NCLGA Webinar: Updating Leadership on the Current Toxic Drug Crisis

October 24, 2024 at 12:00 - 1:00 pm. PDT.

This informative webinar, presented by Andrea Derban and Janine Stevenson from Community Action Initiative, will:

Provide current statistics related to the ongoing toxic drug crisis in BC, including supporting members to access this information\
Share key messages for elected officials when addressing the public’s concerns, including moral panic
Include a discussion on shared language regarding addiction and substance use
Introduce Northern Health’s Regional Harm Reduction Coordinator and how to access services.

Please share this free webinar opportunity with colleagues, and register in advance! Click Here to Register

Presenter Biographies

Andrea Derban is a seasoned Public Health Nurse with over 33 years of experience in three of BC’s five Regional Health Authorities as a Communicable Disease Control Lead. She was the province’s first Vaccine Educator at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) for seven years, moving on to a management position with the Ministry of Health for four years.

In 2013 Andrea had the immense honour of joining Canada’s first First Nations Health Authority as the Clinical Nurse Lead for HIV and Hepatitis C. In 2020 she joined two joint projects between the BCCDC and Community Action Initiative (CAI) as the Clinical Lead for Episodic Overdose Prevention. Additionally, she assisted the Local Leadership United Project that supported elected officials across the province with their responses to the current Toxic Drug Crisis.

Currently, Andrea works in a consulting role with CAI to continue to support communities and Health Authorities across the province in serving equity-deserving populations which includes advocating for access to a regulated drug supply.

Driven by a passion for social justice, Andrea is a dedicated team member striving for systemic changes required to better serve people who use substances. Andrea is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a baccalaureate degree in nursing.

Andrea and her family have the immense privilege of living, working and playing in the Tseycum First Nation Territory, colonially known as North Saanich.

Janine Stevenson
Janine’s heritage is of Orkney and English descent. She has raised her daughter, worked and played in the unceded and occupied territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) people for the past 32 years.

Janine was with the BCCDC as a street nurse for 17 years throughout British Columbia and in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside during which she worked with street youth, sex workers and people who struggle with addiction. She has been involved in creating and teaching workshops for public health nurses, healthcare professionals, peers and elected officials regarding sexual health, harm reduction and substance use throughout BC including First Nation communities for 3 decades. In 2014 Janine joined the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) there she had the role of the STBBI and Harm Reduction CDC Nurse Specialist, manager of the Indigenous Wellness Team and Lead for the Compassion, Inclusion and Engagement Team (CIE), a FNHA & BCCDC initiative. The teams were part of the FNHA response to the overdose crisis throughout the province. Most recently she has been the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects at the non-profit Community Action Initiative (CAI). At CAI she led Local Leadership United, a project that aimed to support elected officials to deal with the challenges brought by the toxic drug crisis in BC. Today, as a private consultant, Janine continues to partner with CAI, regional health authorities, and elected officials to support provincial projects that deal with the toxic drug crisis in BC.

When not at work, she and her partner enjoy biking, gardening and spoiling their cat, Tom.

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