PREPARED BY: Substance Use Prevention And Harm Reduction
DATE: 2026-03-12
SUBJECT: Outcomes of the Peer Advisory Committee - Integrating the Voice of PWLLE
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE
People who use substances encounter multiple, intersecting barriers to accessing health and social services. Persistent barriers such as stigma, housing instability, poverty, and inequitable access to care further reduce the likelihood that people who use substances will seek out programs and services. This hesitancy in seeking out support reinforces cycles of harm and prevents timely connection to care (Public Health Ontario, 2024).
Meaningful involvement of people with lived and living experience (PWLLE) is recommended as an essential element of designing effective and equitable programs that address substance use and ultimately reduce the barriers mentioned above (Support House, 2025). Accordingly, the Public Health Agency of Canada (2024) emphasized the importance of embedding PWLLE in decision-making processes around substance use initiatives, highlighting that their feedback will increase the relevance, impact, and community alignment of the programs which target them.
The Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction department initiated the development of the Peer Advisory Committee (PAC) in April 2025, consulting with other Health Units and internal departments to create the required policies, materials, and recruitment processes. Following interviews and onboarding, the PAC was established as a structured mechanism for PWLLE to provide guidance on service gaps, emerging issues, and program improvements. The group seeks to strengthen service quality and accountability while ensuring that local responses to substance‑related harms are informed by those most directly affected.
PEER ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC) 2025 OUTCOMES
The WECHU has long been a leader in advancing community-driven, person-centered approaches to substance use health. Partnering with PWLLE ensures their insights shape the planning, delivery, and co-design of programs allowing systemic barriers to be addressed effectively (Fortuna et al., 2022). Since its inception, the PAC has helped shape key public health initiatives, including the following:
Media Campaign
- Co-designed the Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy (WECOSS)’s Anti-Stigma Social Media Campaign, a campaign designed by the WECHU to address substance use stigma and strengthening public awareness of substance use as a health concern. This campaign was then further disseminated by members of the committee.
- Provided a pre-launch campaign assessment, resulting in more relevant and impactful messaging that better resonates with the community.
Strategic Guidance
- Informed the modernization of the WECOSS Action Plan, participating in three structured focus groups to provide lived-experience insights, helping to identify critical system strengths, service gaps, and emerging priorities.
- Supported strategic priority-setting by assessing and ranking community needs, ensuring that the updated Strategy reflects evidence-aligned areas of focus grounded in lived and living experience perspectives.
Anti-Stigma Policy Workshop
- Featured peer speakers who delivered lived-experience-informed education to community agency leadership, management, and policy personnel, enhancing their understanding of stigma and its impact on people accessing services.
- Provided insights of lived experience with stigma that strengthened the rationale for adopting anti-stigma policies within participating agencies, supporting more equitable and person-centered organizational practices.
Opioid Agonist Therapy Guest Speaker
- Supported the facilitation of community education through a WECOSS webinar on supporting access to Opioid Agonist Therapies (OAT), contributing lived-experience insights to strengthen service provider education.
- Featured a PAC member as guest speaker, sharing their positive experience with OAT and highlighting how peer support enhances treatment engagement and recovery experiences.
To further assess the effectiveness of the Peer Advisory Committee (PAC), a year-end survey was disseminated to all PAC members. All respondents (100%) reported feeling meaningfully engaged in the committee’s activities, reinforcing the value of the PAC as a strategy for elevating lived and living experience in program development and decision‑making.
NEXT STEPS
As part of the WECHU’s commitment to meaningfully working alongside PWLLE and to provide informed and appropriate interventions in support of people who use substances in Windsor-Essex County, the WECHU will continue to invest and engage the PAC in public health initiatives. Additionally, the WECHU will share the successes of the committee with community and public health agencies to promote the value of co-design with PWLLE. Opportunities to promote the committee include participation at community events, meetings, conferences, as well as supporting community partners in establishing similar advisory committees through mentorship and shared learning. Going forward, the WECHU remains committed to elevating the PAC’s visibility locally and provincially and strengthening its role as a model for effective peer-driven engagement.
References
Fortuna, K. L., Solomon, P., & Rivera, J. (2022). An Update of Peer Support/Peer Provided Services Underlying Processes, Benefits, and Critical Ingredients. The Psychiatric quarterly, 93(2), 571–586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-022-09971-w
Health Canada (2023). Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy: Overview. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/substance-use/canadian-drugs-substances-strategy.htm
Public Health Ontario. (2024). Evidence for strategies that address substance-use related stigma (Rapid review). https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/E/2024/evidence-strategies-substance-use-related-stigma.pdf
Support House: Centre for Innovation in Peer Support. (2025). Understanding the peer role. https://supporthouse.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Understanding-the-Peer-Role.pdf