Neighbour Night Recap

As part of Mental Health week, Sima of Make Mindfully hosted a Naloxone demonstration and DNA origami activity as part of HSCA’s Neighbour Night on May 4th. Neighbour Night runs every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. Check out our calendar for all HSCA programs, recreation, and events.

BY SIMA CHOWDHURY

(Co-creator of MakeMindfully)

On my social work practicum doing outreach for a permanent supportive housing (PSH), I realized the importance of knowing how to use a Naxolone kit and wanted to share it with the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association. HSCA is located close to a C-train station, a permanent supportive housing unit, Aurora House and transitional housing at James House, which suggests that people in the neighborhood are more likely to see overdoses. Checking in with neighbor night participants, they had mentioned that they had seen people semi-conscious at the c-train station. My message was to make sure whether we choose to act or not is based on a conscious choice. At the very least, we can call 911 and report what we see, even if we don't feel safe enough to take action ourselves. 

Before we went through the Naxolone demonstration, I introduced two dialectical behavior therapy skills STOP and TIPP. When we are in a stressful situation we can STOP. Stop, Take a step back, Observe then Proceed. Many people will automatically walk away, afraid to act, but if we use STOP, we can at least call for help. TIPP stands for Temperature, Intense Exercise, Paced Breathing and Progressive Relaxation. In a crisis situation, splashing cold water on your face will help to slow your breathing or if your hands are cold pressing them under your eyes. Running for help is an example of intense exercise, but by far paced breathing is the easiest to do in any situation. Progressive Relaxation involves tensing and releasing muscles, usually starting that the top, tensing your face and then your shoulders, working your way down. 

Despite all my training, nerves got to me, while I presented. What I learned from that experience was, don't rely on your training. Under duress read exactly what is in front of you. The Naloxone kits all come with detailed instructions. It's important to be familiar with your kit and the instructions. Had I done that, everything would have worked out. In a real emergency, the 911 operator will also help you. We discussed the importance of debriefing with someone and using STOP and TIPP skills after the crisis as well as some resources to talk to someone about what had happened. Wellness Together has counsellors from Homewood Health available https://www.wellnesstogether.ca/en-CA/service/talk.

We ended the evening with a fun activity of DNA origami (check out the DNA Origami YouTube video here) Origami DNA represents the foundation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, biosocial theory, as we are the product of our biology and social conditions. Everyone had the same paper, but the shapes came out differently.

Our next Neighbor Night on Thursday, May 18th, features seed bombs with the lovely Abir, just in time for spring. Read more about the event on Abir’s blog post , “Neighbour Night: Make Pollinator-Friendly ‘Seed Bombs’ “.

Additional Resources:

  • Distress Centre- 24 hour Crisis Line- Call 403-266-4357 or visit distresscentre.com.

  • If you or a loved one is struggling or needs mental health support, it's available: ⁣⁣
     Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642⁣
     Addiction Help Line: 1-866-332-2322⁣
    Visit the AHS Mental Health page