Chatham-Kent Drug Awareness Council

09/09/2025

Thomas R. Maxwell III Student Bursary

Thomas R. Maxwell, "Max" passed away Monday, July 3, 2023, at age 68. He was a co-founder of The Sandwich Guys and for over 17 years, who helped by feeding people every week who were often homeless, using substances or having trouble getting on their feet. Thom openly shared his story, and his past dependent substance use, from which he was thankful to have recovered from, remembered being helped by some who were giving, shared what they had, or listened when he felt he had nobody. He also recalled feeling the stigma from many, in their words, their looks of disgust, and judgement, so decided he wanted to be a giver of hope and change, and not a discourager. At the forefront of Harm Reduction work, he lead many community initiatives including, CK Aids Support, CK Harm Reduction Program, and the CK Needle Exchange. Thom educated all who knew him, generously giving his time, money & energy, showing how to meet people where they are at, which he knew was key to make any connections or change for people struggling with substance use. We want to recognize the important work Thom started in our communities, which continue, while encouraging others to follow his example, leading with empathy.

CKDAC is dedicated to supporting a student who is looking to work in the field of substance use and recovery, or a related human service and justice-related, with a financial contribution. All students who meet the application criteria will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, s*xual orientation, citizenship, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

Students who attend a full-time program in Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 are eligible for $1000, and those who attend part-time will be considered for $500. The bursary award will be disbursed each year to one student. Students can apply each year until a program is completed, however students must show evidence of still being actively enrolled & attending their Program, to receive funding in subsequent years. Money can be used towards education expenses for tuition, books, childcare, personal living expenses, supplies, and equipment.

• Only ONE (1) bursary will be given out each school year.

• Those who have expressed interest or experience working in Harm Reduction and/or street-involved individuals are encouraged to apply and will be given priority.

• Candidates with who have lived expertise with substance use, must be in recovery for at least 1 year, with supporting letters from employers, family or health/service professionals who can attest to efforts made in recovery.

Application Criteria and Expectations:
1. Applicants meet all admission requirements to their program of choice and show evidence of their acceptance.
2. Applicants must be residents of Chatham-Kent, with submission of recent ID or document verifying address.
3. Write a short statement (200-500 words) about their financial need/benefit from the scholarship.
4. Students are expected to write a short application essay (200-500 words) about their personal connection to substance use and recovery & include contact info for any volunteer experience.

All applications must be submitted by: September 17th, 2025
(Recipient to be notified by September 19th, 2025)

Applications can be submitted to info@ckdac.net

08/12/2025

06/30/2025

Well, it has been a busy time this past week, so apologies for the delayed post.

We would like to thank the committee members for their planning last week’s very important (and renamed) Ron Paterson Memorial Recovery Brunch, held last Wednesday at the John D. Bradley Center. Previously we have had Recovery Breakfasts, but not sorry since the COVID-19 pandemic. We have honoured the memory and efforts of Ron Paterson, long-time
member of CKDAC and employee at Westover Treatment Centre, by naming this event after him. He was always the leader in offering this event annually, ensuringg they stories of recovery were shared and honoured, and to also give efforts by to decrease stigma about substance use or addiction, as it can save lives.

With about 50 attendees, including many staff from Westover Treatment Centre, we had a delicious bunch, while hearing about the different kinds of Opioid Agonist Treatments (OATs), including Methadone, Suboxone and Sublicade. We also heard from Jessica, who shared her journey of struggle with addiction to opioids and how that impacted her life, and also how OAT helped her to stabilize and stop using opioids altogether, following her recommendations given by her Dr.’s. She also talked about her struggle of stigma she experienced with medical staff when her babies were born. This is a reminder of how taking the time to learn and educate ourselves on substance use and treatments can help not only support those who are using them, but to stop stigma from occurring, so that we don’t deter people from wanting to get help when they are able and ready to.

We also had the privilege of awarding this year’s Teddy Award. As a reminder of what this award is for, it is in memory of Devin Tedford, known by family and friends as “Teddy”, after he died from an accidental overdose in 2014. He fought a battle with substance misuse and often wanted to share his story in the event he may help others. Since his death, his mother Tina Tedford has taken the torch and carried on in Teddy’s spirit.
This year’s deserving Teddy Award winner is Anuke Browning. In her recovery from her self-described addiction for over 3 years, while working on her recovery as a top proiority, she is a mother of 5, and giving her subtle, but important voice to recovery efforts of others. She does this by sharing her struggle and recovery experience at various events or groups, along with other CKROL members, including with youth who may have similar experiences, to try and help them avoid making similar choices that lead her into her substance dependence. She also has been working behind the scenes on many important projects for CKDAC and CK Recover Out Loud, including an updated resource booklet and brochure for out local area, that will soon be released (stay tuned for when it will be available, both online and in pamphlet/booklet formats). We feel Tina Tedford would be proud to know this award was given, as intended, to a person or business who has shown support for, and/or has advocate or provided education on substance use.

05/04/2025

Next week is Mental Health Week! Check out the calendar below for what's going on in Chatham Kent.



Linck Family Service Kent Humana Community Services The Mental Health Network of Chatham Kent - Hope House

04/27/2025

CKDAC has been a grass-roots charitable organization for more than 17 years, contributing to some important work in the area of substance use education, raising awareness of resources, addressing various areas of stigma, advocating for change and access to services in our community. The Board has made the difficult decision to change CKDAC’s registration as an individual charity at the end of this fiscal year (March 31, 2025), but to continue operating CKDAC as an ongoing committee, with the offering of a partnership under R.O.C.K. (Reach Out Chatham-Kent), for a number of reasons.

With R.O.C.K.'s Values and Mission Statement having similar commonalities to CKDAC’s, a new partnership was born.

With the increasing need and demand for substance use or related services, particularly in the past 5 years, with a significant rise in presenting issues seen during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are aware this is shared across all communities in our country, it has become overwhelming to also do this work from the side of our desks. We have confidence that this will be a welcome and important change for CKDAC, to help the sustainability of the work we do.

CKDAC will continue to have separate terms of reference and procedures to guide our work, but will act under R.O.C.K.’s by-laws and policies and their charitable status. R.O.C.K. will not have specific say in what CKDAC does, but will ensure oversight with our operations at a distance, while ensuring our financial and fiscal responsibilities, & stewardship of CKDAC as a Committee.

As we move forward, I hope that we can look at CKDAC with fondness and important work of our history, and also give our time and energy to the commitment of the work that still needs to be done, with our shared values and goals in mind. We will keep you updated on the changes as they are known.

Sincerely,
CKDAC Board/Leadership

04/03/2025

Boozhoo kina weya,

We are looking for an additional 6 Bkejwanong community members with lived experience to provide insight, share knowledge and to help us work on our strategic plan for council

If this interests you, please email harmony.blackbird@hotmail.com or msg/call 226-888-9434 🌱

Please share with folks who might be interested!

04/03/2025

Summary and Recommendations found in the "Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence," Part One: Research Concerning Cognitive, Physical, Mental, and Psychosocial Impacts on Children, Problematic Use of the Internet Section (pages 173-...

03/22/2025

“Put a rat in a cage and give it 2 water bottles. One is just water and one is water laced with he**in or co***ne. The rat will almost always prefer the drugged water and almost always kill itself in a couple of weeks. That is our theory of addiction.
Bruce comes along in the ’70s and said, “Well, hang on. We’re putting the rat in an empty cage. It has nothing to do. Let’s try this a bit differently.” So he built Rat Park, and Rat Park is like heaven for rats. Everything a rat could want is in Rat Park. Lovely food. Lots of s*x. Other rats to befriend. Colored balls. Plus both water bottles, one with water and one with drugged water. But here’s what's fascinating: In Rat Park, they don’t like the drugged water. They hardly use it.
None of them overdose. None of them use in a way that looks like compulsion or addiction. What Bruce did shows that both the right-wing and left-wing theories of addiction are wrong. The right-wing theory is that it’s a moral failing, you’re a hedonist, you party too hard. The left-wing theory is that it takes you over, your brain is hijacked. Bruce says it’s not your morality, it’s not your brain; it’s your cage. Addiction is largely an adaptation to your environment.
Now, we created a society where significant numbers of us can't bear to be present in our lives without being on something, drink, drugs, s*x, shopping... We’ve created a hyper consumerist, hyper individualist, isolated world that is, for many of us, more like the first cage than the bonded, connected cages we need.
The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection. And our whole society, the engine of it, is geared toward making us connect with things not people. You are not a good consumer citizen if you spend your time bonding with the people around you and not stuff. In fact, we are trained from a young age to focus our hopes, dreams, and ambitions on things to buy and consume. Drug addiction is a subset of that."
Credit: Johann Hari

03/13/2025

02/14/2025

The Canadian Public Health Association recently released a comprehensive new position statement on the toxic drug crisis, laying out all needed avenues of policy and practice response, including safer supply.

This powerful quote from the introduction of this document comes from Guy Felicella, a Canadian harm reduction advocate and addiction educator:

"Dead people don’t recover. You also have a lot of people who use substances who don’t struggle with an addiction. With the risk of the contaminated drug supply that’s on our streets today, first-time substance users, intermittent
substance users, casual substance users and people who struggle with addiction—people from all walks of life who use substances—are at severe
risk of death."

To learn more, please visit:
https://cpha.ca/toxic-drug-crisis

02/09/2025

01/18/2025

📢 Join Our Upcoming Group for Children and Caregivers!

🗓️ Dates: January 29, 2025 - March 5, 2025
🕒 Children's Sessions: Wednesdays, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM (1-hour sessions, 6 weeks)

✨ For Caregivers: You’ll also receive 3 one-on-one, hour-long sessions at a time that works best for you to support and enhance your parenting journey.

📞 Interested? Contact our intake line at 519-354-6221 ext. 233 to sign up. Please note: an intake form must be completed before the group begins.

We’d love to have you join us! 🌟