Why a blog? Understanding FASD in Atlantic Canada

Katharine Dunbar Winsor

Katharine is the Executive Director of fasdNL and researches criminalized women, substance use and FASD.

My journey into FASD work has been multi-layered and driven by an interest in FASD at the personal, professional and research levels. Having worked for fasdNL since 2015, I am continually reminded of the complexity of addressing FASD and the importance of collaborative approaches. 

In 2019, I had the opportunity to conduct FASD work at the Atlantic level with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). During that time, I worked on moving forward some FASD initiatives that would benefit the four Atlantic provinces. A key piece of work was mapping the current FASD work underway in each province and gathering various individuals' contact information. Each person I spoke with, I would ask for recommendations on who else to speak to. Sometimes they mentioned a name I was familiar with; other times, it was completely new information. Often this meant cold calling, introducing myself, introducing the work underway and hoping for the best. What emerged from this was a clear indication that folks across the Atlantic sometimes knew (or knew of) another individual in their region or province. 

People that I spoke to often worked in ‘pockets’, unaware of FASD work underway in other regions of the province or in neighbouring Atlantic provinces. There was no central hub of information and little to no inter-regional or inter-provincial sharing of information, training, resources, or collaborative action. For individuals living with FASD and their parents or caregivers, this disconnect and the lag in FASD responses in Atlantic Canada has other ramifications. Where does one seek support and information about FASD relevant to their everyday life? How can one seek support at a peer or professional level from others who understand FASD?  What does it mean to be impacted by FASD in Atlantic Canada or to know or love someone who is? 
These questions and the magnitude of the responses necessary stay with me; they inform the urgency I feel on a daily basis to move forward FASD work, however small, in Newfoundland and Labrador and across Atlantic Canada. 

Following the end of the contract with PHAC, I was left with the same question. What more can be done for FASD work in Atlantic Canada? In 2020, fasdNL received an answer of sorts. With an increased funding commitment from the provincial government and provincial representation at the already existing Atlantic Intergovernmental FASD Partnership, we had a clear possibility. With increased capacity, fasdNL was able to test the waters for the development of an Atlantic-wide FASD community network. Initial conversations indicated that yes, others were interested too. In July 2020, using the extensive contacts compiled during the contractual work with PHAC, we held an initial meeting. The response from stakeholders from the four provinces was overwhelmingly positive. This marked the formation of the Atlantic FASD Community Network, a group of stakeholders from the four Atlantic provinces undertaking work at the community or committee level. The Network provides stakeholders with an opportunity to share FASD related work underway in their regions in addition to information, resources, and training materials. It also provides an opportunity to strengthen networks within each respective Atlantic province.
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This blog draws upon the Network's collaborative effort and the individuals that we work with across Atlantic Canada to give voice to FASD work underway and various perspectives from across the four provinces. Importantly, this blog is a way of centring the voices of individuals with lived experience with FASD, either diagnosed themselves or as parents or caregivers. The posts you will read here provide unique perspectives of individuals’ own experiences. While these may not be universal or relatable to all, we hope that readers gain a heightened understanding about working or living with FASD in Atlantic Canada. Welcome to the blog and stay tuned for future posts!