Blood Ties Four Directions Centre

11/13/2025

We are so grateful for this critical support from the Council of Yukon First Nations

Blood Ties Four Directions Centre and the Council of Yukon First Nations are pleased to announce that the Supervised Consumption Site (SCS) will resume weekend service thanks to a new partnership.

Weekend services were paused in May due to staffing shortages. One third of the Blood Ties workforce resigned in the months following an incident. Blood Ties has submitted multiple proposals to the Yukon Government for sustainable, cost-effective solutions to address staff recruitment and retention challenges and increase safety. While short-term emergency funds were provided to increase security and mitigate community impacts, proposals for long-term sustainable solutions were not approved. This new partnership ensures coverage through March 31, 2026, without interruption to essential health-care services.

Read the full release here: https://tinyurl.com/dbb2ctym

10/30/2025

We are excited to share the full report of the evaluation of the Supervised Consumption Site: https://www.bloodties.ca/resources

Thank you to all of the participants who shared their experiences with the program and Britta Andreas for your hard work conducting the evaluation and preparing the report!

10/21/2025

In addition to the services listed below, there will be a vet offering simple vet services today until 2pm at the KDCC for Whitehorse Connects.

10/07/2025

Hello Yukoners!
It’s getting chilly outside, and the snow is playing Chicken so come join us for some Turkey this Thursday, Oct 9th!
Lunch is 1-3 and Dinner is from 4-530!
Our kitchen crew is going to take you on a journey of the most delicious fall flavours and we hope you can gobble your way over to join us for this festive feast🦃🍂

10/06/2025

Today, Blood Ties shared a letter with all Yukon political party leaders ahead of the upcoming election.

The toxic drug crisis continues to devastate our communities, and we cannot afford to backslide. Before our Supervised Consumption Site (SCS) opened, overdoses in alleys and parking lots were routine. Today, hundreds of lives have been saved but our services remain stretched beyond sustainability.

We encourage all Yukoners to ask political parties how they will address the toxic drug crisis and hepatitis C.

👉 What we’re asking party leaders to commit to:

Supervised Consumption Site: Adequate staffing and funding to operate 7 days a week, 11 hours a day, while keeping services low-barrier and accessible.

Workforce: Fair wages and supports for harm reduction staff, whose life-saving work is undervalued and underpaid.

Continuum of Services: Support to maintain and expand food, housing, drop-in, and outreach programs that stabilize lives and strengthen community wellness.

Education: Sustained funding for health education, stigma reduction, and culturally rooted programs like the Knowledge Keeper Project.

Hepatitis C & STBBIs: Accessible, community-driven testing and treatment so all Yukoners can access early diagnosis and cure.

Impact so far:

438 overdoses reversed: That's 438 lives saved!

More than 58,000 visits since 2021

Over 1,060 unique individuals supported

Significant improvements in participants’ physical and mental health, safety, and dignity

As one person shared: “I’d probably be dead without this place.”

We are calling on all parties to publicly share their commitments by October 17, 2025 so Yukoners know where they stand.

You can read the full letter and background at https://www.bloodties.ca/news-events/letter-to-political-parties

Thank you for standing with us and with people who use drugs. Together, we can save lives and build stronger, safer communities.

— Blood Ties Four Directions Centre

The toxic drug crisis is a health emergency in the Yukon and across the country that has had devastating impacts on communities. Before our supervised consumption site opened, overdoses in alleys and parking lots were routine. Today, hundreds of lives have been saved through the continuum of service...

09/12/2025

✨ Blood Ties Supervised Consumption Site – 2025 Evaluation Results ✨

Since opening in September 2021, the SCS has had more than 59,000 visits and reversed over 439 overdoses with no lives lost. That’s 439 lives saved. [note: this may seem like a rapid jump since last time you heard from us but it is because we are using a new definition of overdose based on what other sites use to better reflect current overdose presentations and were able to update some of the old records too]

The evaluation of Blood Ties Supervised Consumption Site (SCS) showed the SCS is more than a place to use safely - it’s a place where people:
💜 Reduce sharing of supplies and lower their risk of HIV and hepatitis
💜 Access food, warmth, and connection during harsh Yukon winters
💜 Find mental health support and community when they need it most
💜 Build relationships that restore dignity and reduce stigma

Participants told us:
🗣️ “[Without it], I'd probably be dead.”
🗣️"I think mental health is probably even better, too. Yeah. Just the fact that I have somewhere to go and talking to people and not feel like this horrifying, disgusting thing."
🗣️ They experienced stigma and judgment throughout their lives, which was hard to hear. But we were happy they described feeling “wanted and accepted” and “always welcome, heard, understood” at the SCS.

The findings are clear: the SCS saves lives, improves health, reduces strain on the already-stretched health care system, and makes our community safer.

Thank you to those of you who have stood with us during this difficult time. Having the site closed on weekends has weighed heavily on our hearts and we appreciate our supporters for being behind us!

09/06/2025

💜 Thank you for joining us on International Overdose Awareness Day

On September 3rd, our community came together at Blood Ties for conversation, remembrance, and a shared meal. We honoured those we’ve lost to the toxic drug crisis and called for urgent action to prevent more deaths.

Each life lost was preventable. The crisis is ongoing, and it demands political courage and concrete action. Blood Ties is calling on all levels of government, community organizations, and the public to take immediate, concrete action:

➡️Create an updated Substance Use Health Emergency strategy with priorities and an implementation framework with an outline of how objectives will be achieved, timelines, delegation of responsibilities, where different funding will be sourced from, and set achievable and measurable goals.

➡️Invest in sustainable harm reduction programs, with stable, long-term funding for the approaches proven to save lives. Address the acute shortage of skilled harm reduction workers in the Yukon by ensuring wages are competitive locally and nationally, and by providing sustainable funding to recruit and retain experienced staff who have built expertise and trusted relationships in the community.

➡️Expand access to opioid agonist treatment and safe supply, particularly for individuals living outside of Whitehorse. The toxic drug supply is unpredictable and dangerous. A safe supply of regulated, readily available substances that all Yukoners who need it can access would save lives.

➡️Support Indigenous- and peer-led initiatives, including land-based healing, cultural supports, and community-driven pathways to wellness.

➡️Stop investing in carceral and police-focused approaches to address a health crisis. Criminalizing people who use drugs further marginalizes them and puts them in situations where using is more unsafe and where they are too afraid to call 911 in medical emergencies.

➡️Address the social determinants of health fueling this crisis, including housing insecurity and food insecurity.

➡️Carry naloxone and know how to use it. Practice filling vials so you’re ready. Learn first aid and how to provide rescue breathing, which can be as important as naloxone in saving a life. Responding to a crisis is more difficult than practicing in a classroom. It is important to practice these skills regularly.

➡️Integrate overdose response into workplace safety training and ensure public spaces with community washrooms have overdose response protocols in place.

We already know what works — we’ve seen it save lives. What we need now is the courage to act.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in remembrance, solidarity, and a call for change. 💜

09/03/2025

We are having our International Overdose Awareness Day event at Blood Ties this afternoon from 12-3pm.

We will have a BBQ, booths for other community partners, naloxone training, and memorial craft making for those who are interested.

We're thinking of our community, today and everyday.

09/03/2025

Join us tomorrow (Wednesday September 3rd, 2025) from 12:00 - 3:00PM for International Overdose Awareness Day at Blood Ties. We will gather, share food, and honour those we've lost to the toxic drug crisis.

A free barbecue will be provided.

Everyone is welcome!

08/27/2025

Out of respect for the recent loss of a Northern Tutchone community member, and in recognition of the Selkirk First Nation and Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation office closures, the Liver Health Carnival in Carmacks will be postponed.
We will return at a later date when the time is right.

Our hearts are with the family and with everyone impacted at this difficult time

The Carnival in Dawson City will still take place on August 28th as planned.