Ontario’s substance use data tells us how many people experience harm each year. It doesn’t tell us how long someone may spend struggling before they’re ready to accept help.
One of our service users spent years using marijuana heavily but did not believe they had a substance use problem. Despite ongoing conversations about treatment and available supports, they were not ready to engage.
Rather than walking away, our team stayed connected. Over time, their substance use began affecting nearly every aspect of daily life, including personal hygiene, communication, overall functioning, and their ability to maintain stable housing. Multiple attempts to connect them with care were unsuccessful.
After years of persistent advocacy and relationship-building, they were finally admitted to hospital, where they received comprehensive mental health and addiction treatment. Today, they have maintained their housing, remain engaged with their care team, and continue working toward their personal goals.
Their journey is a reminder that recovery cannot be forced. Sometimes the most important intervention is making sure support is still there when someone is finally ready to accept it.
That’s something overdose statistics and public reports cannot measure.
Ontario continues to see rising rates of substance-related harm, with more than 2,500 opioid-related deaths recorded in 2023 and an increasing number involving multiple substances. Those figures tell us the scale of the crisis, but they don’t explain the circumstances that lead people there.
The data doesn’t show the years spent building trust before someone accepts treatment. It doesn’t capture the impact of housing instability, trauma, poverty, racism, or fragmented systems of care. It can’t measure the persistence of community workers who continue supporting someone after declined referrals, missed opportunities, or unsuccessful interventions.
According to us, lasting change happens when people have access to equitable and trauma-informed care that recognizes the whole person, not just their substance use.
As Ontario continues to respond to the substance use crisis, our focus cannot stop at counting outcomes. We must also invest in the relationships, community-based supports, and equitable systems of care that make different outcomes possible in the first place.
Sources
Data referenced in this article is drawn from Public Health Ontario, the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN), and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA). Links to source materials are provided below.
Public Health Ontario. Substance Use Harms Tool. Available at: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Data-and-Analysis/Substance-Use/Substance-Use-Harms-Tool
Ontario Drug Policy Research Network. Ontario Opioid and Suspect Drug-Related Death Data. Available at: https://odprn.ca/occ-opioid-and-suspect-drug-related-death-data/
Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Opioids and Substance Use Health Resources. Available at: https://www.ccsa.ca/en/guidance-tools-resources/substances/opioids
