$5,000 grant awarded to Port Moody's society schooling kids about province's toxic drug crisis

overdose-crisis-education — Naloxhome founder Chloe Goodison poses for a portrait at Old Orchard Park in Port Moody, B.C. on Thurs., Nov. 17, 2022. Photo by Marissa Tiel

The grants keep rolling in for a Port Moody society providing education on B.C.’s toxic drug crisis and naloxone training.

NaloxHome Society is one of 64 organizations to receive a $5,000 grant in B.C. under the Ministry of Attorney General’s multiculturalism and anti-racism program. Winners were announced on Wednesday, April 3.

The society’s founder, Chloe Goodison, was also recently gifted $50,000 through Mazda Canada’s Rising Legends Award, which gives money to young adults involved in community-based initiatives.

The province’s grant targets organizations which: “build intercultural interaction, trust and understanding or projects that challenge racism, hate and systemic barriers.”

Its 2023-2024 program specifically focused on projects that reduce systemic racism and hate incidents, or build capacity in racialized communities.

NaloxHome was founded in 2021 to address gaps in the public school curriculum around the toxic drug crisis. Its volunteer educators, a diverse group of young educators, can be booked to provide hour-long, fact-based presentations to classes and teams.

The curriculum is backed by Fraser Health, and includes inclusive/anti-stigma dialogue which is reviewed by SHARE Society.

When Goodison began NaloxHome, she specifically sought out a diverse team with different racial backgrounds, gender identities, lived experiences with drug use, education levels and employment types.

That team started with 17 youth volunteers, but has now expanded to over 60, presenting their curriculum to over 7,500 people in B.C., including public, private, Indigenous and alternative-based schools.

“This program is led by a diverse team of youth volunteers who provide youth-to-youth learning, which eliminates stigma and increases engagement with the sensitive topic of substance use and mental health, to create informed and empowered young decision-makers,” NaloxHome’s application to the province said.

The 8th anniversary of the provincial declaration of a public health emergency is on April 14. Over 13,000 people in B.C. have died from toxic drugs since the declaration was made in 2016.

NaloxHome is hosting its first annual general meeting on Saturday, April 27, between 1 and 3 p.m. at Coquitlam City Hall.

Interested parties can RSVP by emailing info@naloxhome.com by April 6.