Over the last decade, nearly 3,000 young people in BC have died from toxic drug poisoning.
Dr. Kora DeBeck is taking action alongside youth with first-hand experience of substance use.
A researcher at Simon Fraser University, Kora leads the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS) at the BC Centre on Substance Use. She was supported by a Health Research BC Scholar award, in partnership with St. Paul’s Foundation.
ARYS follows more than 1,200 youth in Vancouver aged 14-25 to learn about their experiences and how social factors affect substance use. The goal is to inform drug policies and programs that support the health and wellbeing of youth at highest risk.
The Scholar award helped Kora build vital networks and partnerships with local, provincial, and Indigenous organizations. She created the ARYS Community Research Associates program to strengthen connections with youth and community service providers. She also helped form the ARYS Indigenous Collaborators Circle to guide Indigenous-led research on substance use.
ARYS is shaped by youth themselves. Carmen Verdicchio, who struggled with drug addiction in her early teens, heard about ARYS through a friend when she was 15. She was one of the first participants in the study. But her journey didn’t end there.
Carmen later contributed to research on advocacy, youth, opioid treatment, and perinatal substance use. Today, she leads the ARYS Community Research Associates program — creating ways for other youth to collaborate with the research team and make sure the study reflects their voices and realities. Carmen plays a crucial role in ensuring the research remains community-informed and accurately represents those with lived and living experience.
“ARYS aims to amplify youth voices because youth are our future,” says Carmen. “They’ve shown us that the current treatment model is not one-size-fits-all. Our unique experiences highlight the need for solutions that benefit everybody.”
The ARYS team continues to seek those solutions. They’re building evidence to support better responses — grounded in science, not stigma. By sharing their findings with government and community leaders, they’re helping to both inform policy and shift public understanding.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about substance use and drug policy,” says Kora. “I encourage people to look deeper. The evidence often tells a different story than popular public narratives.”
Kora and the ARYS team are showing the power of listening to youth, building strong partnerships, and using research to drive real change.
Dr. Kora DeBeck is Distinguished Professor of Substance Use and Drug Policy in the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University. She is also Research Scientist with the BC Centre on Substance Use, a Dorothy Killam Fellow, and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Applied Public Health Chair.
Learn more about the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS) and the ARYS team.
This story was originally published on the Michael Smith Health Research BC website.
