Saskatchewan’s Drug Task Force hired Praxis Consulting out of Regina to conduct focus groups on substance abuse in the province: the answers support conclusions long reached by community-based organizations.
The reports released by Praxis are accessible on the province’s Drug Task Force website at Saskatchewan.ca/drug-task-force.
Focus groups were conducted in the fall of 2021 and included individuals with lived experience, individuals experiencing active substance abuse disorders, family members of affected individuals, advocates, community-based organizations (CBOs), municipal leaders, First Nations and Métis organizations, and health and social work professionals.
Key findings from the focus groups include:
- Substances are cheap, highly addictive, easy to find, and readily accessible within most Saskatchewan communities.
- Individuals often avoid seeking help from service providers due to discrimination and stigma. Other factors limiting their ability to use services include lack of transportation, government-issued ID, permanent address, or a permanent contact number.
- Some individuals don’t know where to go for help. Others said that long waitlists and gaps between detoxification centres and treatment centres presented a barrier.
- Another important factor noted in the report is the need for increased communication and coordination between service providers.
- Some key contributors to developing a substance abuse disorder identified in the groups were untreated mental health issues, trauma, intergenerational trauma, and a lack of belonging. Substances were used as coping mechanisms to numb physical and psychological pain. Isolation and boredom during public health orders were also a factor.
NDP social services critic Meara Conway released a report in January concluding that the Sask Party’s policies have heavily contributed to the worsening of the factors detailed by the Praxis report.
Previous reporting by MooseJawToday.com sought input from a variety of sources on the growing homelessness crisis, which shares causes with the issue of substance abuse. Government sources were likely to say that existing social services were adequate to meet today’s challenges.
CBOs, on the other hand, were more likely to identify Sask Party social services policies as contributing to the crises.
In February, Medicine Hat’s Jaime Rogers told MooseJawToday.com that stigma and discrimination, communication and coordination between service providers (including hospitals, police, and CBOs), and eliminating barriers such as a lack of ID were crucial components to fighting homelessness.
Medicine Hat is the first city in Canada to achieve Functional Zero homelessness. They have been pioneering their approach, and publishing research supporting it, for over a decade.
The Saskatchewan Drug Task Force includes representatives from provincial government ministries, the Chief Health Medical Officer, provincial coroner, police organizations, the Saskatchewan Health Authority, and, more recently, the Saskatoon Tribal Council.
The province is gradually adding 77 new residential mental health beds through additional funding to existing CBOs. Critics have said that number of beds is simply inadequate, and have pointed out that many of them are not even available yet – despite being promised in 2019.
No new residential mental health beds are being added in Moose Jaw. The John Howard Society of Moose Jaw estimates that there are at least 100 people struggling with chronic homelessness in the city. Many also struggle with substance abuse disorders.
Social Services minister Lori Carr has repeatedly denied that provincial social services are inadequate. Although the ministry has admitted that stopping all direct payments to landlords in the new Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program was not a good idea, the reinstatement of those payments will be limited – and no timeline for reinstatement has yet been disclosed.
