Resources
If you need help now — and where to turn next.
Every number here is a public, verified crisis or overdose-response line — never a treatment-facility intake number. Call any of them just to talk; you never have to be sure it's "serious enough." And whatever else you do today: carry naloxone.
Crisis lines
Emergency
If someone is unresponsive or you think it's an overdose, call 911 now — then give naloxone if you have it.
988 Suicide Crisis Helpline
24/7
Call or text 988 — free, anywhere in Canada. If the using has you thinking about harming yourself, start here. People rebuild from exactly where you are.
NORS — National Overdose Response Service
24/7
Using alone? Call or text NORS first. A peer stays on the line with you and calls for help if you stop responding. Free, confidential, judgment-free.
Stay alive first, then get support
Naloxone and a free meeting are the two moves that pay off fastest — and neither requires spending money or giving your name.
Naloxone — free kits, how to get one in your province
Carry naloxone. It reverses an opioid overdose long enough for help to arrive, and it's free at most pharmacies — no prescription, no questions. Health Canada's page maps every provincial program.
Narcotics Anonymous — official meeting finder
Meetings in person and online, most days, nationwide
Free peer fellowship for addiction to any drug, in any combination. No dues, no forms, no professionals in the room. The official finder is the only current source for meeting times.
Nar-Anon — for family and friends
The parallel fellowship for the people who love an addict — same structure, separate rooms, because the family's recovery is its own work.
SMART Recovery — secular, science-based meetings
Not a 12-step person? SMART runs free, science-based meetings across Canada, in person and online, built on tools rather than steps. Many people blend it with NA rather than choosing one.
Want a person to walk it through with you?
Take the private self-check, or ask us to make one warm introduction to a matched, licensed provider — free, and only with your consent.