(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Community Health

Province pays for new alcohol strategy community coordinator in P.A.

Sep 24, 2020 | 12:00 PM

The Northern Alcohol Strategy is being renewed, and funding this year from SGI and the Ministries of Justice and police will help pay for a new community coordinator position in Prince Albert.

The funding for Karen Anthony Burns’ position makes perfect sense given that Burns has been working with the Prince Albert Community Alcohol Strategy since 2015, a group that shares the same values and vision of the Northern Alcohol Strategy.

“We are constantly looking for funding to try and keep our work going and this will kind of ease that a bit for us,” Burns said.

Since 2016, the Northern Alcohol Strategy has worked to reduce alcohol-related harms for residents of Northern Saskatchewan, and last year was expanded to include the communities of Creighton, English River First Nation and La Loche. One of its biggest success stories has come from communities in the Lac La Ronge region – a reduction in alcohol-related emergency room visits.

“Its really nice to see the things they are doing and we can maybe take some of that and use it here in our community as well,” Burns said.

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Due to COVID-19, the Prince Albert Community Alcohol strategy has been forced to cease all its face-to-face activities and focus instead on using social media to engage the communities such as activity calendars and a mocktail recipe contest. Some special plans are also in the works for Oct. 2, a day proclaimed by the city and the World Health Organization as Alcohol Free.

In addition to the coordinator position in Prince Albert, SGI’s funding will be used to provide personnel to support other communities involved with the strategy.

“SGI is committed to reducing impaired driving throughout Saskatchewan and one of the ways we’re doing that is through partnerships at the community level,” Minister responsible for SGI Joe Hargrave said in a press release. “The work coming out of the Northern Alcohol Strategy supports SGI’s goal of making our roads and communities safer, so I’m pleased to see this investment continue.”

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell