Recommendations to end criminalization of Indigenous women in the DTES

Legal and judicial reform

Recommendation 155: Reform the drug treatment court process so as to not require a guilty plea to access the program.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Culturally safe healthcare

Recommendation 187: Reframe mental health and addictions services so they mirror Indigenous women’s social and economic realities and aspirations towards healing.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Expanded health services

Recommendation 202: Ensure timely, culturally safe, and evidence-based mental health and addiction services in the DTES, ranging from prevention, early intervention, treatment, crisis care, home visits, and aftercare.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Expanded health services

Recommendation 203: Guarantee a 24/7 mental health and addictions counselling program that is low-barrier, drop-in based, available on demand, and includes overnight street-based counselling in the DTES.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Expanded health services

Recommendation 204: Declare the opioid crisis a national public health emergency that disproportionately impacts Indigenous women, and expand funding for immediate health-based solutions for the opioid crisis that focus on the specific needs of Indigenous women. This includes:

1. Full spectrum of recovery supports including immediate access to Indigenous women’s detox-on-demand and treatment centres.
2. Indigenous-run treatment centres that use culture as treatment with Indigenous healing methods and land-based practices.
3. More indoor overdose prevention sites and consumption sites, including culturally safe sites for Indigenous women only.
4. Decriminalization and access to safer drug supply.
5. Opioid-assisted therapy programs and full spectrum of substitution treatment options.
6. Longer-term funding for range of culturally safe treatment programs.
7. Provincial regulation and oversight over all recovery programs and facilities.

Recommendations for Indigenous women’s wellness in the DTES

Expanded health services

Recommendation 205: Ensure that people with mental health and/or substance use-related disabilities have a means to enforce their human rights related to accessing and maintaining their housing and employment.