"Today, Member of Parliament, Scott Simms, on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, announced funding for Toward Prevention, which will increase awareness of FASD, prevent alcohol use in pregnancy, and improve the health and social outcomes for those affected by FASD.
The prevention-based awareness campaign will include social media ads, infographics, and resource materials for the public and for health and social service professionals that reflect Atlantic Canada’s unique needs, values, and contexts. The campaign and resources will be translated into French, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy-Maliseet, Innu-Aimun, and Inuktitut.
The ‘FASD 101 and the Justice System’ training curriculum is tailored to justice professionals such as policing, corrections and parole officers, lawyers and judges.This comprehensive, evidence-based FASD training offers a trauma-informed lens to understanding FASD and its intersection with the justice system in Atlantic Canada. This project will support the development of a facilitator manual and virtual training sessions to increase capacity of justice professionals to train others across the Atlantic provinces." 

Read the full press release here.
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Watch the announcement here with remarks by Scott Simms, Member of Parliament for Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, Newfoundland and Labrador, Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and Katharine Dunbar Winsor, fasdNL Executive Director.

*New Study on Vaping in Pregnancy Recruiting Participants *
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The Centre of Excellence for Women's Health is currently recruiting participants for a new study designed to understand vaping of cannabis and nicotine during pregnancy and postpartum.
This study is looking to hear from pregnant and postpartum women firsthand in order to understand women’s experiences, attitudes, knowledge and practices.
If you are interested and think this might apply to you, click this link to learn more about the project and participate in the survey:
http://ow.ly/Yxlu50DbH8a
#VapingInPregnancyStudy

Seeking research participants (until end of January 2021) on the education and care of people using methadone or Suboxone during pregnancy.  Interested? Email adrover@mun.ca or call 709-777-4057.

About this research project: "This project has full ethics approval from the provincial Health Research Ethics Board.
The purpose of this study is to support and improve the obstetrical care and perinatal education provided to pregnant parents undergoing Opioid Agonist Treatment (Methadone/Suboxone) in Eastern Health.
Through private discussions with participants, held over Zoom, we wish to explore the pregnancy, delivery and immediate post-partum experience of birthing parents who were taking methadone or suboxone.
If you are interested in participating in this study please review the recruitment poster below and follow the indicated steps. New participants will be accepted until end of January, 2021."

The Atlantic FASD Community Network brings together stakeholders from the Atlantic provinces whose work focuses on or intersects with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) at the community or committee level.
The Network aims to move forward FASD initiatives in the Atlantic region through collaborative efforts around awareness, prevention, education, intervention, and knowledge mobilization.
The blog is an initiative led by the Atlantic FASD Community Network. It aims to capture the experiences and views of various individuals working or living with FASD in the Atlantic provinces.

Interested in contributing a post about your experience working or living with FASD?
Email contact@fasdNL.ca
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fasdNL Staff Announcement
Thursday, September 24, 2020 
fasdNL held its annual AGM and biannual Strategic Planning Day on September 14th and 15th, following the very successful FASD Awareness Week in Newfoundland and Labrador from September 7th to 11th.  It has been a very exciting year for our organization and we would like to share some updates on our growth.
In the spring of this year, fasdNL was fortunate to receive a one-year funding commitment from the Department of Health and Community Services that provided the resources to hire our first full-time staff person, in the position of Executive Director.  Katharine (Kate) Dunbar Winsor was appointed to this position after serving as the coordinator for fasdNL from 2015 to 2019.  Kate completed her Master’s in Sociology at Memorial University in 2018, producing a master’s thesis entitled, “If we get beyond the stereotype”: professionals' experiences attending to FASD, social supports and stigma in Newfoundland and Labrador, the results of which she presented widely and turned into a published paper.  Kate is currently a SSHRC-funded PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal, QC, and her dissertation will explore the experiences of women, particularly mothers, formerly involved in the justice system, examining their substance use-related needs and challenges.  Kate’s fervent dedication to these themes and issues has been critical to the creation, development, and growth of fasdNL and our organization credits much of its success (and organization) to the ceaseless efforts of Kate.  To highlight some of her work, please check out our FASD in NL Landscape Paper, Shining a Light on FASD in Newfoundland and Labrador report, and our 2020 Annual Report.  fasdNL extends a very big official welcome to Kate as its first Executive Director!
 
fasdNL, in association with Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, also received a Canada Summer Jobs grant in 2020 to hire a full-time student in the position of research assistant to support the work of fasdNL.  Gillian Foley, who has a Certificate in Criminology and is currently finishing her Psychology Honours Major (Bachelor of Science) atMemorial University was hired in this position.  Gillian will continue to work part-time with fasdNL throughout the fall of 2020, thanks to a student career experience program through Memorial University.  Part of this position is running fasdNL Team’s account: @FASDNL_Team
 
We are very grateful for the immense work of both Gillian and Kate and look forward to continuing to grow fasdNL’s capacity and initiatives!