Harm Reduction: Not What I Thought

Alumni, students, faculty and members of the public are invited to the next lecture in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work Alumni Association’s 2022-2023 Alumni Series.

We will be joined by four panelists in a discussion titled, “Harm Reduction: Not What I Thought.”

Date: Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Time: 6:30pm—8:00pm EST

Location: Zoom

Register here

All are welcome to attend.

Certificate of Attendance: Participants will be eligible to receive a certificate of attendance for use towards professional development. An e-certificate will be issued to participants who join us for 80% or more of the lecture time.

About the panelists:

Candice Brimner
Candice Brimner, BSW, RSW, has worked in the social services sector since 2010 in a variety of front-line and leadership roles. Currently, she is a Registered Social Worker at one of the leading teaching hospitals in Ontario, maintains a small psychotherapy practice in Hamilton and offers her expertise as a community consultant specializing in the treatment of concurrent disorders. Candice is passionate about her work and not only utilizes theory in her practice, but also her lived experience as a woman in recovery from mental health and substance use.

Joanna Dickinson
Joanna Dickinson is a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner with over 12 years of experience in community and residential settings. She works exclusively with individuals who are experiencing mental health and substance use concerns. Currently Joanna specializes in addiction medicine working at a Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic at CMAH. During her time as a Nurse Practitioner in family medicine, she recognized the abundant mental health needs of her clients. Joanna embarked on a learning journey receiving certification from the Canadian Nurses Association in Psychiatric and Mental Heath Nursing. Joanna has completed additional certificates in cognitive behaviour therapy, motivational interviewing, and Opiate Use Disorder. She continues to look for ways to offer greater variety of services to meet the needs of clients. Joanna learns every day from the clients she works with and  credits her clients for helping her see a wider breadth of views around substance use and harm reduction. She currently works as a Course Lecturer at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing.

Michelle Lewis
Michelle is a dynamic leader and educator with over a decade of experience in the health services sector. She is a registered social worker who holds a social service worker diploma from Humber College, a Bachelor of Social Work with a minor in psychology from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Master of Social Work with a specialization in Health and Mental Health from the University of Toronto. Michelle specializes in the planning and delivery of healthcare for people presenting with complex mental health and addictions profiles.

Michelle has held several progressive positions throughout her career ranging from community support worker to facilitator and counsellor. Currently, Michelle is a Director of Clinical Services at the Canadian Mental Health Association-Peel Dufferin. She is also a workshop facilitator with Toronto Hostels Training Centre, Academic professor with Humber College and part-time lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University, and the University of Toronto in the FIFSW. Michelle values and upholds anti-oppressive practices, she is passionate about health equity, and advocating for access to high quality holistic healthcare for marginalized equity-seeking populations.

Hope Ramsay
Hope is a senior healthcare executive and community-based researcher with 30+ years of experience in the design and management of community health programs focused on sustainable improvement, stakeholder value and bottom-line impact. After beginning her career as a Registered Nurse, she went on to earn a Masters degree in Public Health. Hope has a strong track record of leading health initiatives by designing, managing health and community programs in government, not for profit and academic settings internationally with a special focus on HIV, harm reduction, homelessness, mental health, Black Indigenous People of Colour (BIPOC), 2SLGBTQ+ and newcomer populations.

Hope is currently the Executive Director of Moyo Health and Community Services, where she leads teams in providing respectful and destigmatised array of health promotion, education, mental health, social and support services for people living with, affected by, and at systemic risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections.