About Us

In 2018, the Campbell River Community Action team was founded with the help of a Provincial OERC- CAI Grant. The Campbell River Community Action Team (CAT) is mandated to develop and implement local action-oriented strategies that will help to address the overdose crisis in our region.

Today, the CAT manages a Peer Program, that works to connect people with lived/living experience of substance use to employment, training, and community engagement opportunities. We work to support overdose prevention interventions, such as Naloxone programs and other harm reduction services. Further to this, we promote anti-stigma messaging and public education that aims to make our community a safer and more accepting place for all.

Governance

The CAT team is administrated by a program coordinator. The program coordinator supports the peer coordinator, who oversees the daily operations of the Peer Program. The CAT leadership team is the primary decision-making body and is comprised of 8-12 members from the social services sector and 2-3 peer representatives. The voting power of the CAT Leadership is conducted on an organizational basis, allowing for a variety of perspectives, within a focused decision making framework.

The CAT committee serves as an advisory body, and welcomes people from all sectors of the Campbell River Community, including social services, government, businesses, and the general public. The CAT leadership decisions are put forth to the CAT committee for input, and often CAT committee members serve as the lead or partner agency for CAT-supported projects.

Project proposals can be submitted to the CAT Leadership Committee, and the proposal template is available from the CAT Coordinator.

The CAT Committee is funded by the Provincial Government, via the Overdose Emergency Response Centre (OERC) and the Community Action Initiative (CAI). Our reporting is governed by the CAI, and our funding is managed by the City of Campbell River.

Meetings

CAT leadership meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at 3:00 pm, via Zoom

Whole CAT Committee Meetings are held on the Second Tuesday of every month at 3:00 PM via Zoom.

Recently, we have developed a Peer Advisory Meeting, which is designed to get people with lived experience’ perspective on the CAT’s activities. Peer Advisory Meetings will be held, in person, on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. Please contact us for more information about getting involved with our Peer Program.