The Brantford-Brant Community Drugs Strategy (BBCDS) has released its 2026 Action Plan, highlighting a unified community approach to reducing substance use-related harms and improving health and safety for residents across the Brantford–Brant region. As a coalition of cross-sector organizations, the BBCDS continues to lead a coordinated, evidence-based response that spans prevention and education, treatment and recovery, harm reduction, and community safety.
Each year, the BBCDS develops an Action Plan to address emerging needs and strengthen local responses. The 2026 Action Plan reflects extensive collaboration among all Drugs Strategy members and includes 12 recommendations, including:
- Safe Sharps Disposal in County of Brant: Assist the County of Brant in designing and implementing a safe, community-wide sharps handling and disposal policy.
- Parent and Caregiver Education: Develop key educational messages for parents and caregivers on preventing, delaying and responding to youth substance use.
- Expand unregulated drug market monitoring: Advance local unregulated drug monitoring through expanded implementation of drug checking.
- Tenant-informed Harm Reduction Program: Provide harm reduction supports in a rental building designed from tenant feedback.
- Willett Urgent Care Harm Reduction Supply Access: Launch harm reduction supply and naloxone distribution at the Willett Urgent Care Centre.
- Coordinated Harm Reduction Education Campaign: Create unified public health messaging across all harm reduction access sites in Brantford-Brant.
The development of this Action Plan took place between August and November 2025 and involved input from the Coordinating Committee’s 10 Core Members, as well as Advisory Members. The Committee’s Core Members are:
- SOAR Community Services
- Grand River Community Health Centre (GRCHC)
- Positive Health Network (PHN)
- Child and Family Services of the Grand Erie
- The Brantford Police Services (BPS)
- Grand Erie Public Health (GEPH) (formerly the Brant County Health Unit)
- Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS)
- Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services
- The County of Brant
- The City of Brantford
The BBCDS operates according to a “municipal drug strategy” model, a best practice for collaborative local drug response. The BBCDS is one of two drug strategies operating in the Grand Erie region. The Lighthouse Community Strategy (LCS) brings together organizations and community members from Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Haldimand County and Norfolk County to address the harms associated with substance use and mental health challenges. Grand Erie Public Health is an active participant in both the BBCDS and the LCS.
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“The 2026 Action Plan demonstrates our collective commitment to reducing harms related to substance use through collaboration and evidence-informed strategies. Our priority is ensuring that all individuals who use substances have access to the services and supports that they need.”
Alyssa Stryker
Brantford-Brant Drugs Strategy Coordinator, Grand Erie Public Health