Webinar Description:

Frontline workers in shelters, outreach, and homelessness services are increasingly responding to drug poisonings in their workplaces and communities. This webinar provides practical guidance on recognizing and responding to drug poisonings, while also addressing the emotional and operational realities staff face in these situations.

Participants will learn how to identify the signs of opioid and stimulant drug poisonings, respond effectively using naloxone and rescue breathing, and navigate safety and legal considerations such as the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act. The session will also explore what happens after a drug poisoning, including how to support individuals who have been revived, respond to the impact on peers and bystanders, and facilitate staff debriefing and care following critical incidents.

Grounded in harm reduction and trauma-informed practice, this session aims to build confidence, strengthen response skills, and support frontline workers in providing compassionate, effective care in high-pressure situations.

Instructor: Corey Ranger

Instructor Bio: Based in unceded Quw’utsun Territory, Corey Ranger (he/him) is an uninvited settler on these lands. Corey is a registered nurse with extensive experience in street outreach, community, and public health nursing with additional training in project management and quality improvement. Corey has focused primarily on harm reduction since 2013 beginning in Alberta and now in British Columbia. At present, Corey is the Clinical Director at AVI Health & Community Services, President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, a board of directors at Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (CDPC), and the North American Representative for the Members' Advisory Council (MAC) with the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC).