De vraies personnes. Des histoires vraies.

Avertissement :: cette page contient des mentions de thèmes tels que la consommation de substances, l’intoxication aux opioïdes, les méfaits liés aux substances, la grossesse et l’accouchement, la maladie mentale, les agressions sexuelles, la maltraitance, les blessures, les traumatismes intergénérationnels et le racisme, ce qui peut être perturbant pour certaines personnes.

Note about language: The stories shared through Empowered Voices reflect each person’s unique voice and lived/living experience, including the language they choose to describe themselves and their journeys. We respect and honour that choice. At the same time, we acknowledge that some commonly used terms related to substance use, such as “addict,” “clean,” or “sober” can be experienced as stigmatizing or rooted in perspectives that frame drug use as inherently negative or in need of fixing. While these terms may feel natural to some speakers, they are not the only ways to talk about these experiences. We also offer alternatives like “people who use drugs,” “substance use,” “not using,” and “use drugs.” Our goal is not to prescribe how people should speak about their own lives, but to learn how stigma and barriers to care influence health inequities and substance use, and to support a broader understanding of well-being that recognizes people’s strengths, contexts, and diverse pathways.