The Speakeasy Podcast
The Speakeasy Podcast dives deep into the systems shaping life in Saskatchewan — from housing and health care to justice and harm reduction. Through honest conversations with lived experience leaders, service providers, and policy thinkers, we explore what’s broken, what’s working, and what’s possible.
The Speakeasy Podcast
Beyond Forced Treatment: What actually helps people who use drugs in Saskatchewan
Dr. Barb Fornssler and Executive Director of Prairie Harm Reduction Kayla Demong joined me in the studio to unpack the drug policy in Saskatchewan, and what real support should look like. They offer firsthand insight into what happens when public systems label people as problems instead of supporting their healing.
Together we challenge narratives about forced treatment, explore how relationships and choice can be healing forces, and question policies that punish people for surviving. This is a conversation rooted in experience, and a call to design systems that meet people where they’re at.
Key topics include:
• Why forced treatment often causes more harm
• Navigating multiple systems: child welfare, justice, and mental health
• The power of housing-first and harm-reduction approaches
• Youth, trauma, and criminalization
• Systems built on risk, not relationship
• A call for choice, equity, and compassion in service design
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