Safer Choices Week 2026
What is Safer Choices Week?
March 9 to March 13, 2026
Safer Choices Week is a week-long initiative focused on harm reduction education and support for substance use. Happening March 9-13, 2026, the week offers a supportive, non-judgmental space to learn, reflect, and have real conversations about drugs, alcohol, and other behaviours that can impact wellbeing.
Through interactive workshops, creative activities, and peer-led conversations, students can explore safer-use strategies, build knowledge, and connect with trusted campus and community resources. Whether you use substances, are thinking about it, or just want to learn more, Safer Choices Week meets you where you are 鈥� without pressure or shame.
Join us for in-person and online events happening across campus all week. Come to one event or check out a few, learn something new, and connect with supports that help you make informed choices and take care of your wellbeing.
Join us for a high-energy Cardio + Muscle Conditioning class that blends heart-pumping cardio with strength intervals to boost your mood, reduce stress, and build full-body strength. This inclusive, all-levels workout encourages you to listen to your body, move at your own pace, and explore exercise as a positive coping strategy.
With supportive coaching, optional modifications, and connections to campus and community resources, you鈥檒l leave feeling stronger, empowered, and supported.
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Location: RAC Studio 2 (LL2)
Healing Through Collaging is a creative, low-pressure space to slow down and express yourself through art. No art experience needed. Using images, words, and textures, explore your thoughts and feelings while taking a meaningful mental health break. All materials are provided. Come as you are, create at your own pace, and leave with something uniquely yours 鈥� plus new tools to support your wellbeing.
Time: 12:15 PM - 4:00 PM EST
Location: SLC Amph
This group is for women-identifying students to come together in friendship and solidarity 鈥� to honour our identities, challenge what diminishes our sense of self, and uplift one another. Through meaningful conversations and self-discovery activities, we鈥檒l explore our strength, celebrate our beauty, and nurture the power of women鈥檚 connection.
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Location: Hybrid (In-Person & POD 70F)
In partnership with Ontario Shores, this peer support group offers students a supportive environment to reconnect with themselves amid academic and personal stress. We focus on cultivating self-awareness, confidence, and purposeful growth - helping each other move forward with clarity, resilience, and intention.
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Modality: Hybrid (In-person & POD 70F)
Consent and Substances: What You Need to Know
Join Consent Comes First and students from their Consent Action Team for an interactive workshop about navigating consent in situations with substance use. Students who join will have the opportunity to engage in peer-to-peer discussions about consent and have their questions answered by CCF's Sexual Violence Education Specialist, Tricia Chesson.
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST
Modality: Hybrid (In-person & POD 70F)
Being queer means so many different things and your journey is uniquely yours. Whether you're exploring your identity, navigating coming out, questioning relationship norms, or finding your place between family expectations and chosen family, Queer Community Circle is a space where you don鈥檛 have to explain, shrink, or hide who you are.No pressure to share just come as you are, and know you're not alone in figuring things out.
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST
Modality: Hybrid (In-person & POD 70F)
As part of this week鈥檚 Safer Choices Week programming, we鈥檙e inviting all students to stop by the SLC Amphitheater to pick up some fun drinks and new skills as we practice dry mixology. Come learn how to make fun non-alcoholic beverages you can enjoy with friends! Students will get the opportunity to enjoy the drinks they create. So, stop by the SLC Amphitheatre and let鈥檚 get mixing!
Come play with us and enter into a draw to win $25 visa gift card!
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
Location: SLC Amph
Safer Sex and Menstrual Health Bingo
Come play bingo with C3SVS 鈥� the Centre for Safer Sex and Sexual Violence Support in a fun, trivia-style game while learning about safer sex products, STI & HIV myths and facts, menstrual health, contraceptives, and mental health.
Test your knowledge, challenge common misconceptions, and win prizes along the way!
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM EST
Location: POD 70F
Health Promotion Resource Fair
Location: Student Learning Centre Amphitheatre (SLC Amph)
Time: 12:30 PM - 4:00 PM EST. (In-Person)
Curious about substances or addictive behaviours? Not sure where to start? Stop by our resource table to grab information for yourself or a friend. Our team is here to chat, share answers, and connect you with the right campus and community resources. Plus, don鈥檛 forget to grab some swag while you鈥檙e there. This interactive tabling event brings together campus partners and external organizations who are dedicated to supporting student wellbeing. Learn more about topics like cannabis use, gambling, and other addictive behaviours through informative booths, fun activities, and practical tips for making safer choices.
Whether you鈥檙e just curious or looking for support, this space is for every 糖心传媒 student. Come by, learn something new, and leave with tools to support your wellbeing. By participating you will be entered in our draw to win a prize 鈥� you might just leave with something awesome for you or a friend!
Meet wellbeing folks from:
- - DrinkSmart is an alcohol awareness & education program created for Ontario Post-Secondary Students-by-Students.
- - Good2Talk is a free, confidential support service for post-secondary students in Ontario.
- - Breakaway Community Services is dedicated to transforming lives through accessible, compassionate, trauma-informed harm reduction and mental health support.
- (YGAP) - YGAP is committed to providing gambling awareness and prevention to youth and communities through engagement, outreach, and education.
- Student Integrated Health and Wellbeing (SHaW) - Student Wellbeing encompasses a variety of health, wellbeing, and academic services and supports at 糖心传媒 (糖心传媒) that reflect on a university community that is fully committed and engaged in developing and sustaining supportive environments that foster wellbeing and academic success.
- Consent Comes First - Consent Comes First (CCF) provides free, confidential, trauma-informed, healing-centred support to Toronto Metropolitan students affected by sexual violence and other forms of gender-based violence.
- Academic Accommodation Support (AAS) - AAS works with the 糖心传媒 (糖心传媒) community to create inclusive learning environments.
- - Substance is a national organization dedicated to helping families prevent and reduce the harms associated with youth substance use.
- Recreation & Active Wellbeing - 糖心传媒 (糖心传媒) - 糖心传媒 Recreation helps integrate movement into your daily routines to enhance your academic and work performance, and your well-being, while fostering connections to others in 糖心传媒 community.
- - The Trans Collective uses education, advocacy initiatives, and campaigns, facilitating drop-in spaces and socials for students to fight transphobia, cissexism and transmisogyny both on and off campus.
- Centre for Safer Sex & Sexual Violence (C3SVS) - The C3SVS provides free and confidential peer support for survivors of sexual violence and their supporters, as well as products to lessen the impacts of period poverty and eliminate financial barriers to having safer sex.
University can feel like a fresh start but it鈥檚 not always easy when you鈥檙e balancing classes with work, family, finances, or a career change to name a few. Mature Student Alliance is a peer support group created for mature students who are navigating university life a little differently.
Whether you're adjusting to being in intergenerational classrooms, rediscovering your voice on campus, building a new social circle, or just looking for people who get it, this space is for you.
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
Modality: Hybrid (In-person & POD 70F)
Swing by our residence harm reduction table for a casual, no-pressure chat about substance use.
We鈥檙e here to share practical tips on staying safer, looking out for your friends, and making informed choices 鈥� without judgment or lectures.
Whether you鈥檝e got questions, want free resources, or just feel like stopping by to say hi, we鈥檙e here to meet you where you鈥檙e at. Real talk. Real info. Real support.
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Location: PIT 200
Think you know your stuff? Put it to the test in our Jeopardy-style game all about substance use awareness and safer choices! Facilitated by DrugFreeKids, you will tackle myths vs. facts, learn practical harm reduction tips, and discover ways to look out for yourself and your friends.
No experience needed 鈥� just drop in, play along, or cheer others on in this fun, judgment-free space. Win a prize and walk away with real knowledge you can use long after Safer Choices Week ends.
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST
Location: POD 70F
Being a man in today鈥檚 world means more than just 鈥渂eing strong.鈥� It鈥檚 about discovering confidence, building real connections, and staying true to who you are especially when it comes to culture, identity, and your journey as a leader.
Man to Man is a weekly peer support group for university men to come together and grow. Whether you鈥檙e exploring your identity, stepping into leadership, or just looking to connect with other guys on a deeper level, this space is for you.
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
Location: POD 70F
Looking for a chill way to unwind in residence?
Create and Care is a relaxed, creative space just for residence students. Drop in to de-stress with a simple art activity, connect with others in your community, and have real, judgment-free conversations about safer substance use.
No pressure, no lectures 鈥� just creativity, connection, and practical info to help you look out for yourself and your friends. All supplies provided.
Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM EST
Location: PIT 200
safeTALK is a suicide prevention training that prepares participants to recognize and respond to signs that someone may be thinking about suicide. This interactive and evidence based workshop is open to all 糖心传媒 students and focuses on building practical skills and confidence. Participants will learn how to:
鈥� Recognize when someone may be struggling with thoughts of suicide
鈥� Ask directly and clearly about suicide in a supportive and non judgmental way
鈥� Listen with empathy and respond calmly
鈥� Connect individuals to trained helpers and appropriate campus or community resources
safeTALK reinforces that suicide prevention is a shared responsibility. By the end of the session, students will feel more prepared to notice invitations for help, have courageous conversations, and contribute to a safer and more caring campus community.
Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM EST
Location: PIT 200
Britt Harvey - Clinical Nurse Lead
Information about Nalaxone
Alvin Singh - Peer Support Specialist
How to support others struggling with substance use.
Special thanks!
A big thank you to all our partners!
We truly appreciate the time, energy, and expertise you bring to Safer Choices Week. Your participation helps create a supportive, informative, and engaging space for 糖心传媒 students to learn, connect, and make informed choices about their wellbeing. We couldn鈥檛 do it without your collaboration and commitment to student health and wellbeing!