With Open Arms: Welcoming supportive conversations around substance use

Press Release

June 25, 2025

The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is launching a new toolkit centered around the importance of First Nations youth having supportive conversations among friends about substance use. Called “With Open Arms,” the name refers to the importance of being open to conversations with friends, and accepting people unconditionally, without judgment or stigma.

The campaign includes several tools to guide youth in having those conversations, centred around the With Open Arms: Supportive Conversations Among Friends toolkit. The document was developed in collaboration with FNHA’s Youth Advisory Committee, nine First Nations youth with lived and living experience.

With Open Arms also features several videos of the Youth Advisory Committee members sharing their own perspectives on how to have supportive conversations around substance use. Other videos feature First Nations actors simulating what a supportive conversation might look like, based on principles taken from the toolkit.​​

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