Businesses being a catalyst for change!

This summer, I was lucky to work with Innovate Calgary! Specifically, I was part of the CATALYZE program, which pairs undergraduate students with start-up companies that focus on social innovation and change. I was paired with EACH + EVERY: Business for harm reduction. As you can tell by the name, our primary focus was adding the voices of businesses to policy reform regarding harm reduction. We are in the middle of an opioid crisis, and we felt that companies having NALOXONE on-site could curb the alarming rates of overdoses. So far, we've saved 2 lives saved on the ground of our member business. We focused on business because most are nestled in their communities and have firsthand experience of what needs to be changed. Companies also have the power to stand up for what's right, as seen in the past by large-scale ones like Starbucks. Starting local might seem small, but with over 150 businesses from coast to coast across Canada, we are getting our voices heard.

I was able to sit down with local councillors and mayoral candidates to talk about harm reduction. I was also lucky to be part of a HubSpot call and fielded questions about what harm reduction means to us. But my favourite experience last summer was when we would go downtown and participate in community cleanups. We also took the time to bring snacks, toiletries, and water to people who were houseless. We also had business owners and councillors come along to witness firsthand how people survive in downtown Calgary. We all engaged in NALOXONE training and even saw one of our volunteer leads reverse an overdose. It showed us how real this epidemic is, and the problem isn't people who use drugs (PWUD). It's policy change, and EACH + EVERY is at the forefront.