On Tuesday, Jun 15th, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) launched the Ottawa Community Action Plan (OCAP) website, together with the OCAP core sponsors: The Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA), The Royal, The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), and The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA).
OCAP is a collaborative, network-based strategy with an overarching goal of reducing harms from substance use. The plan is intended to be inclusive and include engagement with a broad range of individuals, agencies and existing networks representing people with living experience and expertise, Indigenous Peoples, newcomers, visible minorities, women, LGBTQ++ and priority populations.
To ensure a collective and impactful approach, agencies are working closely with the Ottawa Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force, advisory groups, stakeholder groups and partners.
Their main goal in launching this website is for everyone to be able to find information related to the OCAP in one consolidated space. You will see how the Ottawa community has been involved and working together to provide varying perspectives and expertise to drive action on:
- addressing stigma related to substance use that still widely exists;
- leading the way in providing access to harm reduction services; and,
- creating a more centralized and simplified way to access substance use and mental health services in Ottawa.
