Author Archive

Rate of opioid-related deaths doubled in Waterloo Region during pandemic: report

WATERLOO REGION — The rate of opioid-related deaths in Waterloo Region has doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, following along a similar trend that has been seen across the province.

In a report released on Wednesday, the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network documented the changing circumstances around opioid-related deaths in Ontario, comparing data collected in 2019, before the pandemic, with data collected in 2020, during the pandemic… read more here.

To view more of our (Un)Safe infographics, take a look at our overdose prevention webpage.

Towards Violence Free Homes

The Coalition of Muslim Women has started a program designed for racialized women in other languages including those who are Muslim.  Towards a Violence Free Home. They train peer workers to have conversations with women in several different languages and cultures around family violence. It has opened up all sorts of important opportunities for each community.

One of the outcomes of these conversations was a local study of barriers to services for Muslim women and racialized women in Waterloo Region. These reports were released a couple of weeks ago and if you haven’t seen them yet, are a valuable resource to your organization.

http://cmw-kw.org/pdf/Summary.pdf (Summary Report)

http://cmw-kw.org/pdf/Equitable%20Services.pdf (Full report)

Here is a link to the Event announcing these reports: Click here

We are so excited about the release of the UNMUTE podcast!

We are so excited to release the UNMUTE podcast!

The UNMUTE podcast will span 6 episodes and take a deeper look at what we can do as active bystanders for friends and families experiencing violence at home.

Listen to the trailer here: https://theatreofthebeat.ca/unmute

You can also find it on most major streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and many more!

PS. If you subscribe, rate and review it, more people are able to find it! Every little bit helps spread this message and goal of equipping people with tools to better prevent intimate partner violence. 

….and that’s a wrap!

From the Theatre of the Beat Newsletter:

It’s hard to believe back in the summer of 2020, when creating theatre seemed like a faraway dream, we would be approached to create a piece that addresses the rise of domestic violence during COVID-19.

What originally began as a 4-show run in the fall of 2020, turned into a 22 show run in 2021 that spanned provinces across Canada.

Over 1000 households watched, we had viewers tuning in from all over the globe and we worked with 12 different organizations aimed towards assisting women and children experiencing violence at home.

In case you missed our resource package from the show you can access it here.

Created in partnership with Women’s Crisis Centre of Waterloo Region, Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and DART (Domestic Assault Review Team of Waterloo Region)

Peaceful Homes: A Guide to the Prevention of Violence in the Home During and After Lockdowns

There are a lot of exciting things to report regarding the work of the Keep Families Safe Coalition.

The Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention released a report called: Peaceful Homes: A Guide to the Prevention of Violence in the Home During and After Lockdowns. The WR Crime Prevention Council was one of the funders

There was a Webinar in celebration of the release featuring:

• Heidi Illingworth, Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime:
• Shannon Turner, Public Health Association of BC and Prevention of Violence Canada:
• Lana Wells, Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence, University of Calgary: Shift

The Recording can be found here.

Lana Wells was particularly exciting as she talked about Upstream approaches to gendered-based violence – stopping it before it happens by changing structures and culture.  Spoiler alert, Lana Wells will be one of our panellists on one of our New Upstream Speakers Series events happening next month – stay tuned.

There will be a Part 2 webinar on Preventing Violence in the Home in June featuring Koren Lightning-Earle.  The Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council will also be presenting on the Keep Families Safe work here in Waterloo Region, and the Coalition Of Muslim Women will join us to talk about what the Coalition of Muslim Women are doing and to share their report on Creating Equitable Services for Muslim Women in Waterloo Region.

#THINK

THINK promotes respectful and responsible offline and online citizenship through positive use of social media. Before you text, tweet, or post to social media sites ask yourself if what you are saying is: True? Helpful? Inspiring? Necessary? Kind?

Follow us on social media for #THINK updates. Check out our youth giveaway on Instagram for your chance to win up $500 worth of prizes through our #THINK Contest! For more resources and information, check us on on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

For more information, links, and resources check out our THINK page on our website.

Honey Bee Q&A Recording

This May, for #SexualAssaultPreventionMonth we are releasing recordings of parts of our 2021 Chelsea’s Virutial Series. First up, click here to watch the Panel and Q&A from our Honey Bee Film Screening!

In March 2021, the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council organized a series of 8 virtual events over 7 days alongside The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, MT Space, and various other supporting organizations. This series was highlighting the Anti-Human Trafficking Program at SASCWR, who reported a 27% increase in requests for support for online exploitation since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

This series included panels, play readings, workshops, and even a film screening and Q&A. In 2019, WRCPC presented a film screening of Honey Bee alongside our first performance run of the play Chelsea’s Story. Over 150 people registered to watch the film and attend the Q&A with filmmaker Sally Karam, Melissa Hern from the Victim Witness Assistance Program of Kitchener and Guelph, and an advocate with lived experience named Michelle Furgiuele.

While the global pandemic moved us online, virtual events removed many barriers to attend. The majority of attendees were local, 20% tuned in from the United States and 2% watched from another continent! This event had an incredibly engaging Q&A session, and we’ve uploaded the recording of the Honey Bee: Information and Panel Discussion for you to watch as well as the Honey Bee Panel Transcript of the Q&A. If you would like to watch the film Honey Bee, it will be available on the CBC network or you can purchase it through iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, and Vimeo On Demand.

For more information about these events, links to other recordings and resources, and instructions for how to bring the play Chelsea’s Story to your school please visit Chelsea’s Recap on our website.

(Un)Safe Webinar and Q&A Recording is online to watch!

On April 20th, 2021 the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council partnered with ACCKWA in hosting a webinar on our Safe Supply initiative. (Un)Safe: Reducing the Harms of the Criminalization, Acquisition, and Consumption of Unregulated Drugs featured Michael Parkinson, Sarah Escobar, and Jesse Burt who also led a Q&A period following the webinar.

To watch the full webinar and Q&A, check out the event recording on YouTube! This webinar was intended for professionals who work directly in related fields as well as people with lived experiences with the subject matter. Stay tuned for upcoming events including the general public as part of our Upstream Speakers Series; details coming soon. For more information about Safe Supply, infographics, reports, and upcoming webinars, please visit our Overdose Prevention page.

Crime prevention council makes case for safe drug supply program in Waterloo Region. KW Record Article

WATERLOO REGION — A new report from the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council makes the case for the creation of a local safe drug supply program, an initiative that advocates say would reduce homelessness, decrease the number of overdose deaths and provide stability to those who use unregulated drugs… read more here

Check out interview with WRCPC’s Michael Parkinson on Safe Supply

The Mike Farwell Show interviewed WRCPC’s Michael Parkinson about our Safe Supply initiative on April 14th, 2021.

570 News – The Mike Farwell Show:
Safe Supply interview with Michael Parkinson
The above link will take you to the full The Mike Farwell Show collection. Please scroll to click April 14th, 2021 to find the interview. The segment on Safe Supply begins at the 87:30 min mark.

For more information about Safe Supply, infographics, reports, and upcoming webinars, please visit our Overdose Prevention page.