Youth Harm Reduction Award

Youth Harm Reduction Award - Now accepting applications until March 31, 2025.

Now accepting applications for the Youth Harm Reduction Award! Apply by March 31, 2025.

Apply now

Information and Guidelines

Youth Harm Reduction Award Application - Fillable

Youth Harm Reduction Award Application - Downloadable

Overview

  • Winners will receive $1,000 (total) and a framed certificate for each recipient.
  • Applicants must be under 19 and live in any community in the Island Health region, including the southern Gulf Islands.
  • Applications are accepted from mid-December to March 31. Applications will be reviewed beginning in April, with the winning submission announced in June. 

What is the Youth Harm Reduction Award?

Island Health’s annual Youth Harm Reduction Award was inspired by three high school students in the Greater Victoria region whose commitment and passion allowed them to attain their goal of providing harm reduction training in their school. Their motivation to make a difference came following the fatal illicit drug poisoning of a friend. This award honours their dedication to advancing knowledge and creating awareness to help reduce the risk of harm for themselves and for other young people.

Learn about the 2024 award winners.

We look forward to hearing from other young people about innovative and impactful harm reduction projects they are leading in their communities!

News & Events

Applications open for 2025 Youth Harm Reduction Award

Applications open for 2025 Youth Harm Reduction Award

Calling all youth in the Island Health region with a passion for innovative approaches to the toxic drug crisis. Have you, or another young person you know, worked on a project in the past year that focused on reducing harms related to unregulated substances? 

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image of Beth Haywood, peer coordinator

Connection is cornerstone for peer coordinator Beth in her substance use recovery journey

For Beth Haywood, connection was more than support—it was survival. Now six years sober and a peer coordinator with Island Health, she credits the life-changing relationships she made along the way as the cornerstone of  her recovery. 

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“The most important call I’ve made in my life”: Service Link phone line makes an impact in first year

“The most important call I’ve made in my life”: Service Link phone line makes an impact in first year

“The most important call I’ve made in my life,” is exactly the feedback Island Health’s Mental Health and Substance Use program was hoping to hear following the launch of the Service Link phone line one year ago. 

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