Drug Education
The objective of Odd Squad’s reality based substance abuse presentation is to educate all youth as to where the choice of using addictive substances can lead by using teaching points, images, videos and messaging from subject matter experts.
Presentation Topics
- Categories of drugs
- How addiction occurs
- Why it is so important for youth to avoid making the choice of drug use
- Why some people choose to use
- How the pro-drug message grooms youth
- Some strategies to avoid starting
- Psychosis
- Violence and the drug using lifestyle
- Drug use and addiction does not just impact the user
- Quality control
- Changing drug trends
Odd Squad members have teamed up with educators, medical experts and the addicts themselves to inform youth of the unnecessary risks that are taken when they engage in substance use.
This presentation will educate, challenge pro drug belief and create conversation.
Recommended viewers:Grade six and up, including parents.
Gang Education
The Truth About Gangs presentations provided by Odd Squad police officers are multi-media and reality-based, drawing on years of experience the officers have in dealing with Gang issues while working in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland area. Audiences for these presentations range from elementary school through to university age students, community groups, parents, and at-risk youth. Presentations are age-appropriate. Recently Odd Squad has incorporated presentations on “Girls in Gangs” dealing with females who may be drawn into this lifestyle. Odd Squad also works with recovered gang members who can assist in reaching out and better connecting with at-risk youth.
Objective
Provide youth with the tools, resources and knowledge on how to avoid the dangers of the gang lifestyle. With the assistance of students and youngsters previously involved in the gang world, our subjects will be exposed to numerous stories/experiences involving them with gang members.
How
This initiative will be delivered through in-person presentations by the members of Odd Squad Production. Our film series – “Gangs and Guns”, “The Wrap Project”, and “OSP Gang Modules” can be utilized to supplement the in-person presentations as teacher or parent resources. Follow up resources and referrals will be provided as needed.
Officers are available for a detailed question and answer period following the educational presentation. Our Q&A comes highly recommended.
Mental Health
COVID Let’s Talk Remote Learning Series
Young adults and high school students are experiencing anxiety at much higher rates than ever before. There can be many contributors to this e.g., high academic loads, lots of extracurricular activities, social/family pressures and uncertain futures. This anxiety can result in sleep loss, depressed mood, psychological distress as well as poor functioning at school and in the community. Some young adults can get caught up in very high risk behaviours – selling, addiction, and thefts in part as ways to deal with their anxieties.
The challenge is to try to understand the pressures young adults are experiencing and recognize the signs and symptoms of dysfunctional coping mechanisms.
This remote learning session is designed to help educators, students and health staff understand the psychological challenges associated with COVID. We will explore choices and strategies that help young adults.
This interactive dialogue will cover:
- Life’s pressures such as school, the COVID pandemic and social media affecting young adults
- Signs and symptoms of Anxiety, Sadness, and Substance Use
- Positive choices young adults have in life
- Strategies that help young adults facing problems or challenges
Dr. Bill MacEwan
Currently, Dr. MacEwan runs the Urban Psychiatry Program at St. Paul’s Hospital. He is the medical lead for the Downtown Community Court psychiatric teams. Dr. MacEwan is the former Head of Psychiatry at St. Paul’s Hospital and is the clinical lead in the Hotel Study, a cohort study of the health, addiction and mental health of 500 residents of the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver.
Dr. MacEwan graduated from UBC in medicine and completed his specialty training in psychiatry at UBC in 1987. His clinical and research interest has always focused on psychosis.
Academically Dr. MacEwan is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UBC and Associate Department Head, Clinical Affairs, UBC, Department of Psychiatry. His research interests have been in the study of novel antipsychotics in the treatment of Schizophrenia; he has also been looking at clinical correlates of Schizophrenia, Early Psychosis and Addiction.
Bill has worked in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver for the last 19 years. Initially this work was psychiatric outreach to the single room occupancy hotels in the DTES. His present work now also involves working at the Downtown Community Court (DCC) in the DTES. The mental health teams in DCC allow the opportunity to use the court as a health point of contact for individuals with extreme mental health issues. The DCC Mental Health programs help patients with their illness and prevent them from entering into further problems with criminal behaviour.
Bill lives in Surrey and has a blended family of 7 children, 5 horses, 2 Sicilian miniature donkeys, Pedro and Al as well as 2 dogs, Biff and Eva.