CESBC Webinar:

Nothing About Us Without Us: Using a Participatory and Equitable Approach to Evaluating an Overdose Prevention Project

WHEN:  Friday, May 8, 2020 from 12 pm to 1 pm Pacific Time

WHERE: CESBC webinars take place online using Zoom platform. You can check your computer's requirements here

COST: Free (long distance charges may apply if you dial in rather than use Zoom app)

LANGUAGE: English

REGISTRATION: Register on Zoom

[Please join the webinar at 12:00 pm. The webinar will end before 1:00 pm. The webinar is booked for a longer timeframe for organizational purposes only.]

Presented by Jennifer Alsop, Charlene Burmeister, Paul Choisil, Prairie Chiu, and Kylie Hutchinson

Webinar description:

There’s a lot of interest in equitable evaluation these days, but what does it actually look like on the ground? The Community Action Initiatives’s Overdose Prevention and Education Network Project actively involved peer harm reduction workers, as people with lived and living experience, in the design and implementation of its evaluation. Join us for an engaging webinar and Q&A where we share some of the benefits and challenges experienced using this approach as well as lessons learned.

Biography of presenters:

Jennifer Alsop is a Manager of Policy and Evaluation, with the Community Action Initiative, a non-profit funder in Vancouver BC focused on strengthening the role and capacity of the community sector to improve mental health and address substance use for British Columbians.

Charlene Burmeister has over 10 years of experience in peer engagement and leadership, and holds several roles including the People with Lived and Living Experience (PWLLE) Stakeholder Engagement Lead for the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), the Provincial Peer Coordinator for the Compassion, Inclusion, and Engagement Project (a partnership between BCCDC and First Nations Health Authority), and is the Founder and Executive Director of the Coalition of Substance Users of the North (CSUN). She is also a board member of the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs. (CAPUD) Charlene was one of the first members of the provincial advisory committee, PEEP in 2015 and continues to inform provincial harm reduction policy using her expertise and leadership.

Paul Choisil started formally working in harm reduction 10 years ago doing outreach with Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH). Through VCH Paul was able to complete several capacity building courses including facilitation, conflict resolution, trans inclusion 101, Wellness Recovery Action Plan, and Take Home Naloxone Training which allowed him to move into several different roles including a peer mentor and peer advisor. While maintaining his work with VCH, Paul has also been able to be part of the PEEP provincial advisory committee in partnership with the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Kylie Hutchinson is an independent evaluation consultant with Community Solutions Planning & Evaluation and author of three books on planning and evaluation: Survive and Thrive: Three Steps to Securing Your Program’s Sustainability, A Short Primer on Innovative Evaluation Reporting, and Evaluation Failures: 22 Tales of Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned.

Prairie Chiu, RSW, manages and supports Community Action Initiative's (CAI) Overdose Prevention and Education Network (OPEN). A native of Vancouver, Prairie received her clinical training at Smith College School for Social Work in Northampton, MA, and spent 8 years providing psychotherapy to diverse clients and their families in various community mental health settings in the US. Recently, Prairie has transitioned into administrative roles, acting as Equity and Inclusion Project Manager at a large mental health agency in Seattle, WA, before joining CAI. Prairie is passionate about change, and specializes in getting things done

If you have any questions, please contact Lulu Li at li.lulu.0505@gmail.com