People with Lived and Living Experience Survey (PWLLES): Alcohol and Drug Use among Street-Involved Youth

1.1 Introduction

The Office of Drug Research and Surveillance (ODRS), Health Canada is launching a sentinel site survey entitled the People with Lived and Living Experience Survey (PWLLES) to examine or determine the prevalence of alcohol and drug use among at-risk populations. At this time, Health Canada is focused on conducting a sentinel-site survey, which will measure the prevalence of alcohol and drug use among street-involved youth (14 to 24 years of age), in urban centres across Canada.

Objectives: The overall objective of this project will be to help address data gaps pertaining to the at-risk population of street-involved youth. Results from this survey will help Health Canada better address the needs of people with lived and living experience, as well as to expand current surveillance practices in order to better understand both current and emerging drug situations that at-risk populations are faced with across the country. This project will also enhance our understanding of barriers, such as stigma, linked to substance use and to seeking and accessing treatment.

The primary outcomes that will be measured by the PWLLES will be to better understand:

• drug use patterns including prevalence, frequency and volume of consumption;
• drug market activity including price, purity, and availability indicators for specific drugs of interest; and,
• harms and risks related to drug consumption including primary health indicators, drug dependency indicators and social and financial problems.