Making it easier for people in Timiskaming to access what they need to improve their health

It isn’t always easy to get the support you need when you need it. When we first heard of Our Healthbox, we knew we had to make it happen in our community.

Our Timiskaming Healthbox provides 24/7 access to personal hygiene, menstrual and sexual health products, harm reduction supplies including life-saving naloxone kits, and gives members of our community the ability to connect to local and virtual supports and services with a touch of a finger.

Our Healthbox encourages health and wellness and is an incredible, innovative addition to healthcare in our community. Our Healthbox acts as another way to let the community know that everyone matters and that we are there for them - in ways they prefer and when they need support.

“As a person with lived experience, I understand the value that anonymous access to harm reduction supplies and basic life necessities can have is enormous. It (the Healthbox) reduces the feeling of stigma and makes it easier to make a self-determined decision to search out potential positive changes.” BP TDAS member

Service agencies aren’t always open, and transportation is often an issue in our community and surrounding areas. Our outreach and peer support workers see the need for 24/7 access to these health supplies, allowing for individuals to stay safe and prevent the transmission of infections (like Hepatitis C and HIV) by providing other preferred options to access things like HIV self-test kits, new harm reduction supplies and hygiene items.

Having a Healthbox as an easily accessible option provides individuals with a feeling of autonomy, humanity, and hope. It also serves as a conversation starter to help address other gaps in care, stigma around substance use, sexually transmitted infections and other conditions.

“I believe having it in our community will encourage individuals to access the support and supplies that they need while honoring and increasing privacy and autonomy”. KM, TDAS member

Having this Healthbox in our community is part of the work being done by Timiskaming Drug and Alcohol Strategy (TDAS). Community partners worked together to make sure that people had another option when it comes to accessing harm reduction and wellness supplies. We believe that our Healthbox will continue to help engage and support the community and our clients to stay safe and healthy.

“This initiative is an empowering harm reduction support that gives clientele independence and freedom of services, in a safe atmosphere available to meet the needs of anyone's schedule or time preference” KC, Harm Reduction Outreach Worker

Our community Healthbox is located outside of Centre de santé communautaire du Témiskaming in New Liskeard and is available to all in the surrounding areas.

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About the Organization(s):

‍Timiskaming Drug and Alcohol Strategy (TDAS): More than 20 organizations are members of this locally driven strategy which aims to address substance and alcohol use in Timiskaming (ON). We focus on 4 key areas: prevention, harm reduction, treatment and community safety. An advisory group of people with lived and living experience helps guide and inform all our work. Visit www.TDAS.ca to learn more.

The Centre de santé communautaire du Témiskaming is a non-profit health organization providing personalized care based on the needs of clients and the community. Programs including primary care aim to reduce the root causes of illness and injury through preventive aspects that are presented based on the determinants of health such as isolation, poverty, education, physical activity and others. Visit www.csctim.on.ca to learn more.

Timiskaming Health Unit (THU) provides comprehensive, compassionate, community focused, and evidence informed programs and services across Timiskaming District in Northern Ontario.. Through collaboration, research and community advocacy, THU promotes and protects the health and well being of all people through programs like sexual and reproductive health, community health and wellness, mental health promotion, dental program, healthy aging, and substance use health and harm reduction services.  Visit www.timiskaminghu.com to learn more.