Our Mission
The Student Overdose Prevention and Education Network (SOPEN) is a community-based initiative organized by a group of students in Hamilton, Ontario. SOPEN is committed to true community engagement and mutual aid. SOPEN encourages people to make informed health decisions by sharing knowledge about harm reduction and overdose prevention in a reciprocal way without judgement and in a brave space
Our Goals
SOPEN strives to collaborate with people with lived and living experience of drug use in a reciprocal way to empower folks to share their valuable knowledge and expertise about the drug poisoning crisis in the Hamilton community
Our Values
Dignity, respect, compassion, collaboration, trust, equity, diversity, inclusion, social justice, responsibility, and education
Our Vision
- We envision a world without overdose related-deaths, and a full and healthy life for people who use drugs
- We envision a world where drug policy is rooted in public health, compassionate care, and human rights-based approaches
- We envision a world where marginalized groups of people, particularly racialized communities, Indigenous populations and women are no longer overrepresented in the criminal justice system for drug-related offences
- We envision a world where drugs are fully decriminalized nationwide and all drugs are legally regulated through various models, including safe supply, compassion clubs, pharmacies, and safe consumption sites
- We envision stigma-free and compassionate healthcare in the medical sector
A Word From Our Founders
As students and social workers on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic, we collectively decided to develop better long-term solutions to the drug poisoning crisis through community engagement and mutual aid with like-minded community members and activists. We are passionately committed to reciprocal knowledge sharing in a brave space and we strongly believe that our interactive presentations on overdose prevention, and the importance of harm reduction will make a difference in our community. This movement will save lives and we hope you will join us.
