Port Alberni, BC

In Person Training Description: 

This hands-on training equips frontline workers with practical skills for applying harm reduction in real-world settings and responding effectively to drug poisonings and other substance-related emergencies. Participants will build confidence in overdose recognition and response, naloxone administration, safer use education, and communicating during crisis situations.  

The session will also explore emerging substances in the toxic drug supply, including non-opioid drugs that do not respond to naloxone, and how workers can adapt their response approaches. Participants will learn practical techniques for responding to common emergencies and supporting basic wound care in outreach and shelter environments. 

Grounded in frontline experience and harm reduction practice, this training focuses on realistic scenarios and skill-building to help workers respond with confidence, compassion, and safety.  

Participants will gain practical skills in: 

• Overdose recognition and naloxone response 

• Safer use education and overdose prevention 

• Responding to drug poisonings, including non-opioid substances 

• Managing common substance-related emergencies 

• Basic wound care in frontline settings  

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, educator, and health systems consultant with extensive experience in street outreach, community, and public health nursing. His work focuses on harm reduction, quality improvement, project management, and translating evidence into practice, policy, and systems change. He has worked in harm reduction since 2013, first in Alberta and now in British Columbia, with experience developing, implementing, and evaluating novel approaches to substance use care and harm reduction. Corey currently serves as President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association and as the North American Representative on the Members’ Advisory Council of the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC). He also works with Indigenous and community-based organizations, including Cowichan Tribes, on quality improvement, service development, and implementation initiatives.

Recommended Pre-Learning: 

This course assumes a basic working knowledge of harm reduction theory; participants are encouraged to complete any of the following recommended pre-learning (linked below) to support shared understanding and practical application.  

• LearnHSABC:   
  • Section on Harm Reduction which is part of the module: Introduction to the Homelessness Sector
• Webinar Library: 
  • Harm Reduction: Current Events and Policy Updates 
  • Harm Reduction: The History of Prohibition in BC and Current Applications 

Location Information: Port Alberni, BC

Best Western Barclay
4277 Stamp Avenue, Port Alberni, British Columbia, V9Y 7X8, Canada

Parking: Large outdoor lot on hotel property.

Additional Information: 

Please confirm any allergies, accessibility, and/or additional support needs during the registration process. If you need any assistance or additional support, please email info@hsa-bc.ca. 

Please read the HSABC Community Agreement prior to registering.