The COVID-19 pandemic has made in-person support meetings for people with substance use disorders more difficult to organize due to health concerns, gathering limits and the inability to access space. Story continuesVirtual helps ease in new attendeesThe remaining groups are hosting about 140 virtual meetings a week, according to an AA spokesperson. She said virtual meetings allow people to attend groups all over North America, as well as attend fellowship conferences. Garner said virtual meetings have helped people discover and ease their way into peer support groups. Services struggle to meet needOverall there's been a decline in access to services even as Canadians say they've used substances more over the course of the pandemic.

Source: CBC News December 19, 2021 09:14 UTC