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This is a student made and maintained website. Last updated 02/12/2025
The VIU Harm Reduction Alliance (HRA) is a student-led initiative sponsored by the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association (VIUFA), committed to promoting harm reduction awareness, reducing stigma, and increasing accessibility to harm reduction resources on campus. Our goal is to create a safer, more inclusive environment by providing education, support, and practical tools to help students make informed decisions about their health and well-being.
Through events, workshops, resource distribution, and peer-led discussions, we strive to foster open conversations about substance use, mental health, and wellness. Whether you’re looking for harm reduction supplies, information, or a supportive space to learn and engage, VIU HRA is here to help.Â
Join us in building a compassionate and informed campus community, with the support of VIUFA.
Our FacultyÂ
Our FacultyÂ
Dr. Carmen Lavoie - Carmen joined VIU’s Social Work Department in 2014. Carmen has worked and volunteered in various capacities related to social work for over 30 years. Her experience in the field of social work includes addictions, HIV, mental health, disabilities, individual and group counselling, violence against women, social policy, community practice as well as end-of-life practice. Carmen graduated with her PhD in 2010 from McGill University, with a focus on community practice in low-income, diverse neighbourhoods. Carmen has taught social work courses at McGill University and VIU. In 2020 Carmen was awarded VIU's Provost's Award for Excellence in Teaching Design and Practice.
https://hshs.viu.ca/bachelor-social-work/faculty-and-staff/carmen-lavoieÂ
Sarah Lovegrove - Sarah is a passionate activist, Registered Nurse and educator with a practice grounded in intersectionality, decolonization, and equity-oriented care. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Art History & Psychology from Carleton University, a Graduate Certificate in Victimology from Algonquin College, a Master of Arts in Women’s Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, both from the University of Ottawa; and after moving to Vancouver Island in 2017, she obtained her Emergency Nursing Specialty Certificate from BCIT. She has practiced in Surgical, Forensic and Emergency nursing, but stepped away from the frontline to better care for her own mental health and is now grateful to be able to support the next generation of nurses in becoming resilient, self-aware practitioners as they begin their careers in our current healthcare system.
As the former Chair of the Nanaimo Community Action Team and a member of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, she centres her work in compassion, listening to the voices of those with lived and living experience, and is dedicated to supporting actionable, evidence-based solutions to the Toxic Drug Crisis from the grassroots to policy level. She began teaching with the VIU BSN program as a sessional in 2022 and as regular faculty in 2023, teaching Relational Practice as well as surgical and mental health clinical practice. Every day she is inspired by the students she teaches and wholeheartedly believes that nurses can change the world.Â
Click here to watch one of Sarahs most popular lectures "Deeper than Drugs", an intersectional analysis of the root causes and impacts of the toxic drug crisis (2024, December).
https://hshs.viu.ca/bachelor-science-nursing/faculty-and-staff/sarah-lovegroveÂ
VIU Faculty Association
VIU Faculty Association
The Vancouver Island University Faculty Association (VIUFA) represents faculty, librarians, and academic staff at VIU, advocating for fair working conditions, academic freedom, and professional rights. The association negotiates collective agreements, supports members with workplace concerns, and ensures fair representation in university governance.
VIUFA is committed to fostering a strong, inclusive academic community by addressing issues such as equity, job security, and professional development opportunities.Â
Visit the website to learn more about membership, advocacy efforts, and faculty resources.
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