Please join us for the:

Compassion in Action Community Conference!

Friday, June 24th and Saturday, June 25th, 2022

8:30am to 3pm - each day

**Register below for this special 2-day educational conference!

Free event with complimentary food provided each day.

Hosted at the USCC Community Centre at 6140 Community Centre Road (just off Highway 3) in Grand Forks.

All attendees must pre-register through Eventbrite registration.

Maximum of 100 people.

There will be a continental breakfast and a Doukhobor lunch each day. Coffee, tea, water, and juice will be available.

What to Expect:

Join us to learn more about the overdose crisis in BC and current best practices for substance use care.

Learn how to support each other in families and stay safer and find local support around substance use. Learn about the impacts of stigma and how we can reduce stigma around mental health and substance use.

Learn from local and provincial healthcare experts, local social service workers, municipal leaders, and peers (people with lived and living experience).

Speakers include:

*Leslie McBain, co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm and family engagement lead with BC Centre on Substance Use

*Zak Matieschyn, local Nurse Practitioner, specializing in substance use and addiction.

*Ashley Cole, Community Engagement Lead, from the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) will lead an engagement for attendees to provide input on what is happening in your community in order to strengthen local substance use and addiction services. Learn from each other’s experiences, challenges, and successes to support community wellness. Engage in conversations to help move towards positive change and more services in Grand Forks.

*Local expert speakers, presentations, panels and more!

Code of Conduct:

Please be kind and respectful in all communications during our conference. Let’s work together to make this a safe and comfortable space for learning and sharing!

Our Conference is supported by:

Interior Health and Mental Health and Substance Use, ANKORS, the Grand Forks Community Action Team, the BC Centre on Substance Use, Moms Stop the Harm, REDUN/HOPE group, and others.

We are grateful to the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ (USCC) Doukhobor Community Choir for participating. We are grateful to JJ Verigin, Executive Director of the USCC, for his welcoming words. We are also grateful for collaboration with the USCC for the conference space and the Ladies Committee for the food at our event.

Many thanks to the BANAC group, and to local First Nations and Metis people for their collaboration on this event. Many thanks go to Elder Joanie Holmes for sharing a blessing with us.

Please respect the rules of the USCC Hall:

Please do not have any food or drink upstairs, except for water bottles with lids.

All food and drinks will be served, and must remain downstairs or outside.

The USCC asks that tobacco, alcohol, drugs, including cannabis, not be used within and in the surrounding area of the Centre, but use of these substances will be allowed in the parking lot. As well no meat, including fish and poultry, is allowed within the Centre and on the surrounding grounds; again, use is restricted to the parking lot please.

The USCC thanks in advance all participants for your respectful cooperation in upholding our principles.

Additional health related:

Masks are welcome. Please do not attend the event if you are feeling unwell.

Funded by:

BC Centre on Substance Use, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, the Overdose Emergency Response Centre, Community Action Initiative, Public Health Services Authority, REDUN, Grand Forks Community Action Team, and ANKORS.

Photo credit: Mural by Paul Archer, permission to use photo from Paul Archer