Health Leadership & Learning Network, York University
healthcare continuing education
Harm Reduction Health Professional Certificate
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Harm Reduction Health Professional Certificate provides a comprehensive, evidence-informed foundation in harm reduction—aligned with current practice across healthcare, emergency response, and community settings.
The program includes:
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Core harm reduction principles and approaches
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Substance use and associated health impacts
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Trauma-informed and culturally safe care
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Clinical and community-based frameworks
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Communication and engagement strategies
This structured curriculum supports professionals in applying a standard in harm reduction practice.
BEYOND FOUNDATIONAL TRAINING
The program is designed to strengthen how knowledge is applied in professional environments.
This includes a focus on:
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Applying harm reduction approaches across diverse, real-world settings
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Strengthening decision-making in complex and evolving situations
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Communicating effectively in challenging interactions
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Integrating learning directly into day-to-day practice
Graduates benefit from:
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Comprehensive, evidence-informed curriculum
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Interactive, scenario-based learning grounded in real-world contexts
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Interdisciplinary learning environment across roles and sectors
This program emphasizes interactive learning through case studies, scenario-based exercises, small group discussions, and reflective practice, culminating in a Capstone Project.
Graduates leave equipped to advocate for meaningful change, enhance patient outcomes, and strengthen harm reduction initiatives within their organizations and communities.
This includes:
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A strong foundation in harm reduction and substance use
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Enhanced ability to apply knowledge across settings
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Greater confidence in complex and high-pressure situations
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Strengthened communication and professional judgment
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Practical approaches aligned with real-world roles
WHY THIS PROGRAM
Career advancement in healthcare, social services, or advocacy roles.
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Mentorship and peer learning built into the program design.
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Direct workplace impact through a personalized Capstone Project.
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Networking opportunities with professionals across sectors.
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Confidence to lead change in harm reduction within your organization.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Program Objectives:
Participants completing the full certificate will be able to:
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Apply harm reduction principles across clinical, community, and systemic contexts.
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Understand the physiological, psychological, and social aspects of substance use.
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Deliver culturally safe, trauma-informed care in diverse clinical and community settings.
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Advocate for policy and systemic change to support harm reduction.
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Integrate knowledge and skills into an actionable plan in their own professional setting.
All courses must be completed:
Course 1: Culture and Diversity in a Binary World
Course 2: Foundations of Harm Reduction
Course 3: Substance Use and Health Impacts
Course 4: Clinical Interventions and Management
Course 5: Navigating Harm Reduction
Course 6: Community Wellness
Course 7: Practical Communication Skills: Challenging Communication and Motivational Interviewing
Course 8: Capstone – Integration & Applied Harm Reduction Project
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Participants design a project relevant to their own clinical, organizational, or community setting
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Includes mentor/facilitator feedback and peer review
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Culminates in presentations and program wrap-up
PROGRAM ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Open to healthcare professionals, social service providers, peer workers, and harm reduction advocates. No prior harm reduction or trauma-informed training required — the program is designed to be accessible for both new and experienced practitioners. Clinical or community experience is considered an asset but not mandatory. Access to a reliable internet connection, webcam, and audio for participation in live online sessions. Commitment to complete pre-readings, interactive activities, and a Capstone Project.
WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE
On successful completion of all learning components, classes, and assessments, learners will receive a Certificate of Completion Confirmation of learning can be provided. Contact us at info@chenetwork.ca
SESSION DATES
Fall 2026 Session Dates:
All courses are required. Dates are for all course
September 15, 17, 22, 24
September 29 & October 1
October 6 & 8
October 13 & 15
October 20, 22, 27, 29
November 3 & 5
November 10, 12, 17, 19, 24
December 1 (Capstone Due)
Download PROGRAM SCHEDULE
All classes are live online via Zoom with a live instructor
Fee:
$2,250.00
Plus Sales Tax
Early Bird until July 31:
$2,000.00
Plus sales tax
The fee includes the cost of all listed courses, course materials, and instruction
FACULTY
Whitney McMillan, BSW, MSW, Advance Care Planning Specialist, Patient Pathways - Healthcare Navigation, Planning and Education, Vancouver BC ; Mental Health & Wellness Program Manager, Rare Disease Foundation, Vancouver, BC
Jordynne Lindsay, RN, BScN, MN
Chatham-Kent Community Drug Strategy Coordinator; Chatham-Kent Ontario Health Team (CKOHT), Chatham, ON
Mish Waraska, RNEC, BScN, MN-NP;
Nurse Practitionere - Substance Use Consultant, North York General Hospital, Toronto, ON
Leigh Caplan, RN, MA, CDE, NBC-HWC
Diabetes Nurse Educator, Sunnybrook Hospital
Lecuturer, Dept of Community & Family Medicine, UofT, Toronto, ON
DURATION/TIME COMMITTMENT
Fully online with live instructor-led learning
Please allow 1 hour of homework time for each course day
For Organizations
This program supports organizations looking to strengthen team capability.
It provides:
• Comprehensive, evidence-informed advancement of team expertise
• A consistent foundation for harm reduction practice that can unify team functioning and outputs
• Advanced application of knowledge across teams, and complex and evolving situations
Contact us to learn more: info@chenetwork.ca or (437) 564-0794
PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Rev'd Canon Maggie Helwig, is a Toronto-based Anglican priest, novelist, poet, and social justice advocate. She is the rector of the Church of St. Stephen-in-the-Fields in Kensington Market, where her ministry has focused on supporting marginalized and unhoused communities.
Ordained in the Anglican Church of Canada in 2012 and later named an honorary canon of St. James’s Cathedral, Helwig came to the priesthood after an established literary career, with numerous books of poetry and fiction.
She is widely recognized for her outspoken social justice work in Toronto, particularly her advocacy for people experiencing homelessness, including her leadership during a high-profile encampment at her church. Her 2025 book Encampment: Resistance, Grace and an Unhoused Community—which reflects this work—won the Toronto Book Award.
Helwig’s work bridges faith, literature, and activism, grounded in a commitment to community care, equity, and human dignity
Whitney McMillan, BSW, MSW, Advance Care Planning Specialist, Patient Pathways - Healthcare Navigation, Planning and Education, Vancouver BC ; Mental Health & Wellness Program Manager, Rare Disease Foundation, Vancouver, BC
Jordynne Lindsay, RN, BScN, MN
Chatham-Kent Community Drug Strategy Coordinator; Chatham-Kent Ontario Health Team (CKOHT), Chatham, ON
Mish Waraska, RNEC, BScN, MN-NP;
Nurse Practitionere - Substance Use Consultant, North York General Hospital, Toronto, ON. Mish has extensive experience in safer opioid supply programs in Toronto. Mish brings deep knowledge from the harm reduction community and a strong commitment to ensuring healthcare providers understand the realities of today’s toxic drug supply.
Madison Joyce, RN, BScN, Masters of Nursing - Nurse Practitioner Student; Madison Joyce is a Registered Nurse and graduate student pursuing her Nurse Practitioner designation. She has a background in harm reduction–based primary care, community health, and substance use care across shelter, clinic, and outreach settings. Madison’s work is rooted in a commitment to dismantling barriers to healthcare access, particularly for people who have been stigmatized, marginalized, and traumatized within healthcare systems.
Erin Telegdi, RN, (Hon)BA, BScN, Masters of Nursing Student - University of Toronto; Erin is the Manager, Advanced Clinical Practice, Substance Use & Mental Health for South Riverdale Community Health Centre. She practices as a Registered Nurse at the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service, Casey House, and the Wound Healing Clinic at Women's College Hospital. Erin is the 2021 recipient of the Canadian Association of Nurses in AIDS Care Award of Excellence in Advocacy, and in 2020 completed an RNAO Advanced Clinical Practice Fellowship focusing on Leadership in CTS Nursing. Erin is currently a Masters of Nursing Student in the Clinical Field of Study at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto.
Mathew McGuigan, BHSc, BScN, MScN, Public Health Nurse, Chatham Kent Public Health, Chatham ON; Graduate Research Fellow, St. Josephs Healthcare, London, ON; Past President CHNIG/RNAO
Evan Halerewich, BScN, RN, CWCN, Correctional Service of Canada, Healthcare Department, Joyceville Assessment Unit