Centre of Excellence for Women's Health
E209-4500 Oak Street, Box 48 V6H 3N1 Vancouver, BC, Canada

#MentalHealthDay is ever important in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and this year the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for increased investment in mental health. There is so much collaborative work needed to address the root influences on women's mental health concerns, such as intersecting challenges of substance use, intimate partner violence, and pandemic policies. Investing in mental health enables advancements in these services, and as a result we have... been working on a rapid review aimed at understanding substance use among women during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing increase in intimate partner violence. Along with our service partners - Canadian Centre on Substance Use / Centre canadien sur les dépendances, Women's Shelters Canada / Hébergement femmes Canada, and the Justice Institute of British Columbia: JIBC we are co-developing materials and resources for first responders, intimate partner violence and substance use workers to address women’s needs during the pandemic. http://ow.ly/phyd50BK3OF We are honoured to be contributing to Canadian Institutes of Health Research's COVID-19 and Mental Health Initiative through this project. Move for mental health: let's invest

We are excited to share our collaborative effort with YWCA Toronto on the Trauma Informed Development and Education (TIDE) project. The TIDE project implemented an organization wide shift to incorporate trauma informed principles in all services and programs at the YWCA Toronto. We have shared resources from this project on our website, offering an opportunity to understand the effects of trauma and implement trauma informed principles into your work. Follow the link below to access these resources: http://ow.ly/sZOw50BG1vI

Join Centre of Excellence for Women's Health Director, Nancy Poole and Senior Investigator, Lorraine Greaves for the Sex, Gender and Cannabis Use webinar organized by CAMH Cannabis Knowledge Exchange Hub - Tuesday October 13th at 1-2pm EDT. Registration is open here: https://bit.ly/2ZszncJ This webinar will be presented in English with simultaneous interpretation in French. To participate in the French presentation, register here: https://bit.ly/33ljfuu

In lead up to #InternationalDayoftheGirl, Centre of Excellence for Women's Health Senior Investigator Lorraine Greaves will be presenting on Women-centered frameworks: Gendered approaches to harm reduction in North America at the Global Citizens Forum hosted by the United Nations Association In Canada. Join the discussion on Oct 7 @ 1 pm ET. Registration is open here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-2nd-global-citizen-forum-le

For #MentalIllnessAwarenessWeek, we want to share this 2011 Report on Violence Against Women, Mental Health, and Substance Use by the Canadian Women's Foundation and the BC Society of Transition Houses, which highlights the continued relevance of these intersecting issues: http://ow.ly/hSAe50BG37D 9 years later, we're asking: How are we advancing collaborative service provisions to address these intersections today?

Don't forget to register for Acute Care and Addiction Treatment for Mothers and Children. This is the third webinar in the series Learning and Acting Together - Perinatal Substance Use, and will be taking place Thursday October 22 at 11amPT/2pmET - 12pmPT/3pmET. Led by a dynamic group of panelists including physicians and community organizers, this webinar will examine interdisciplinary approaches that honour mother-baby togetherness and women's voices in addiction treatment.... Registration is open here: http://ow.ly/1YsT50BEGXU Thank you to the Provincial Perinatal Substance Use Project at BC Women's Hospital, Provincial Health Services Authority - PHSA for sponsoring this webinar series.

Check out our latest blog post about the Indigenous and women-centered approaches to pregnancy care being implemented by the Innu Round Table Secretariat in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, two Innu communities in Labrador. Cultural safety, self-determination, and holistic support are important components of FASD prevention and the projects highlighted in this blog post incorporate them extraordinarily well: http://ow.ly/PwsI50BFNeV

When Gender Transformative and Sex and Gender Based Analysis+ approaches are incorporated into research, practice, and policy, #EveryoneBenefits For #GenderEqualityWeek, we wanted to share some of our resources that are aimed at integrating sex and gender into our work on substance use. Check out our resource page to explore some of our latest manuals, tools, fact sheets, training modules, and webinars: https://bccewh.bc.ca/publications/reportsresources/

We are very much looking forward to Centre of Excellence for Women's Health Senior Investigator, Lorraine Greaves' virtual presentation 'Sex, Gender and Vaping: Findings and Knowledge Products from a Scoping Review' at Canadian Public Health Association's Tobacco and Vaping Control Forum. Lorraine will be presenting emerging issues with cannabis and nicotine vaping as it relates to sex and gender - and what knowledge products can make a difference when it comes to harm reduc...tion. If you are attending the virtual forum, join Oral Presentation 1 today @ 10amPT/1pmET: https://tvcf.can.chime.live/app/app.html #TVCF20

The Benefits of Wraparound, Multi-Service, Community-Based Programs webinar will cover wraparound service approaches that support women who are pregnant and new mothers with substance use and interrelated concerns. Participants will learn about the implications for research, policy, and most importantly practice in communities, that have been identified in the Co-Creating Evidence evaluation research. This national evaluation of multi-service programs offers directions forwar...d based on: local priorities from the perspectives of the service users, service providers and community partners, the service elements found helpful that can be built upon, and where we need to expand action. Please join our wonderful group of presenters, panelists, and facilitators for a one-hour webinar this Thursday September 17 at 11amPT/2pmET. Registration is still open here: http://ow.ly/O0i150BrfxX

Please join us and the Provincial Perinatal Substance Use Project at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, Provincial Health Services Authority - PHSA next week for Benefits of Wraparound, Multi-Service, Community-Based Programs, and learn about the Co-Creating Evidence Project. This is the second webinar in the Learning & Acting Together series, taking place Thursday September 17 11amPT/2pmET-12pmPT/3pmET. Registration is open here: http://ow.ly/xVnP50BleRk

Check out our latest blog post in honour of #FASDAwarenessMonth: http://ow.ly/3ecm50BldNS In the blog we highlight how #FASD is a woman’s health issue, and the toolkit Canada FASD Research Network released which includes information about FASD, speech-writing tips, and images that are strengths-based, non-judgmental, and person-centered to reduce the stigma around FASD, alcohol, and pregnancy.

Prevention of #FASD is a Women’s Health Issue: http://ow.ly/rJzq50BmiNt #FASDAwarenessDay