Get to Know Us
We serve Haliburton County, City of Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County, including Alderville First Nation.
Our Vision Statement
The HKLN Drug Strategy strives for supportive and safe environments that promote the health and resiliency of individuals, families and communities, and reduce the harms and stigma associated with substance use.
The guiding principles listed below are action-oriented statements reflecting the fundamental values that guide the collaborative efforts of the HKLN Drug Strategy and work toward the Drug Strategy’s vision of fostering healthy environments. These guiding principles underpin the four pillars approach, used most commonly in drug strategies, and are aligned with many key principles suggested by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to guide drug strategy planning efforts. The guiding principles are: collaborative; evidence-informed; inclusive and accessible; locally relevant; and sustainable.
Our Guiding Principles
Collaborative
We recognize that strong partnerships are the foundation for success.
Evidence-Informed
We use the most up-to-date information and best practices.
Inclusive and Accessible
We recognize the importance of equitable access to information, support and services.
Locally Relevant
We ensure initatives and objectives are locally relevant and equitably engage all communities.
Sustainable
We work together to develop services and long-term coalitions that are sustainable beyond funding constraints.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation awarded the Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland Drug Strategy a grant for three years, which started in July 2016 and will end in December 2019. These funds have been directed toward the development of a local drug strategy, including hiring a coordinator for the region, hosting community consultations, and initiating project work with partners to address issues related to substance use in Haliburton County, City of Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County. Four partners came together to submit the application on behalf of the HKLN Drug Strategy, each representing one of the 4 pillars of a drug strategy approach. The four partners on the Trillium application are PARN – Your AIDS Resource Network; the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit; the Four Counties Addiction Services Team (FourCAST); and Kawartha Lakes Police Services.
Many municipalities, counties, and urban centers have established drug strategies and/or overdose prevention plans; many of which were reviewed and considered in development of this Drug Strategy. The HKLN Drug Strategy is also a part of the Municipal Drug Strategy Coordinators Network of Ontario (MDSCNO), a network of municipal or regionally-based drug strategies that have a wide-range of expertise on issues of substance use.
Having a local drug strategy will help to ensure coordination of efforts and consistency of approaches used, will improve communication between and opportunities for involvement from multiple stakeholders over a wide geography, and enable the region to better respond to evolving substance use trends and harms together as a community.