Community Conversation on Substance Use and Stigma

This workshop will use portraits of volunteers in rural communities who have been affected by opioid use disorder as a creative way to educate, change beliefs, and reinforce the positive messages conveyed in the artwork. Through this workshop, participants will examine the definition and impact of opioid use disorder stigma on their rural community and will identify ways to reduce stigma, biases, and negative perceptions around recovery. Participants will increase their understanding of resources and tools available in combating stigma and supporting those who use drugs and/or in recovery.

Participants will:

• Create a common definition of stigma and recognize its impact on individuals, families, providers, and their rural community
• Explore negative and positive beliefs around opioid use disorder and recovery
• Identify ways to overcome barriers and challenges to addressing stigma and to operationalize a recovery-oriented approach to reducing stigma
• Review support resources and build on relationships of participants within the workshop to learn from, and use as a resource, to reduce stigma in their rural

Please note: This is not an academic workshop about stigma. It is a conversation for participants to explore stigma, how we support people with Substance Use Disorder (SUD)and their families, and how we work together in our community to reduce stigma. We use portraits and videos to facilitate discussion, making it very interactive.

For more information and to learn about the Healing Cortland project, visit https://healingcortland.org/.