The Improving Treatment Together (ITT) Project aims to improve the experiences and outcomes of community-based services for young people who use opioids, their families, and service providers, using co-design methods.
The Improving Treatment Together (ITT) Project aims to improve the experiences and outcomes of community-based services for young people who use opioids, their families, and service providers, using co-design methods.
Nine stakeholder specific workshops were held in four partnering communities (Kelowna, Prince George, Vancouver, Victoria), where participants explored their experiences and defined specific needs for improving opioid treatment services. They then brainstormed and prototyped solutions to address these needs. Three of these prototyped solutions were chosen for development and co-designed with relevant stakeholder groups.
This project is co-led by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), Foundry Central Office, Foundry Kelowna, Foundry Prince George, Foundry Vancouver-Granville and Foundry Victoria. Each community has developed their own resource to support and improve the experiences of young people who use opioids, their families, and/or service providers.
To learn more about these resources, click the sections below.
A group of twelve parents living in Victoria, British Columbia came together to create a Parent Handbook. These parents all have one thing in common: they parent a young person who has a substance use disorder.
What is this handbook about?
This handbook is a collection of shared experiences and stories to help other parents and caregivers find refuge, support and courage to reach out for help. Whether your young person is experimenting with substances or has developed a substance use disorder, this handbook may help you feel connected with other parents and caregivers going through similar experiences. This journey is a marathon, not a sprint, and knowing that there are others who understand what you are going through can be a lifesaver.
Click the image to read Parents like us. The unofficial survival guide to parenting a young person with a substance use disorder.
For more information about the ITT project, contact:
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the parent handbook! Please fill out a short survey here.
This tool has been developed with 12 youth who have lived and/or living experience of substance use living in Prince George, British Columbia, to support service environments that are accessible, inclusive, safe, and appropriate for youth who use substances.
Who can use the assessment tool
This assessment tool can be used by any health and social services and programs that serve young people, including substance use services, mental health services, youth treatment services, harm reduction services, youth shelters, community health centres, social services, hospitals, emergency departments, etc.
What the assessment tool can provide
This tool can help your organization or program identify:
The tool consists of 4 main areas of assessment to improve youth service experiences:
What to expect from the assessment tool
Click the boxes to access the following links:
For more information about the ITT project, contact:
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the assessment tool! Please fill out a short survey here.
Chantal Brasset, a Family Peer Supporter at Foundry Victoria, shares her experience working alongside the Improving Treatment Together (ITT) Project team and her reflections on the research findings and experiences of the many caregivers involved. read more
Youth-specific findings from the ongoing research project, ‘Improving Treatment Together’ (ITT), were recently published in a special series about young people, drugs and harm reduction. read more
Keywords: Foundry BC, foundry, Victoria BC, Victoria, parents like us, guide, parent handbook, substance use disorder, ITT, improving treatment together, parents, caregivers, Foundry Victoria, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, CCSA