Peers are central to every initiative
‘The staff that work with you don’t always see the end… I wanted to show them what recovery looks like and said, “it’s important that you see some of your clients end up really well.” Hendrik’s message is an important one (p18) when things feel tough at work – and adds to the celebratory feel of Turning Point’s 60 years of changing lives.
On this note, it’s 40 years since Adfam set out to give families a voice in their own right (p6) and it hasn’t been easy to survive patchy funding, the pandemic, and the logistics of managing greater and more varied demands. But they have, and are stronger and more ambitious than ever.
With festival season upon us we’re taking a look at practice from across Europe to find the best initiatives to go beyond simply drug checking (p10). It’s not about one specific
model, says the EMCDDA’s director, but about being ready with a harm reduction system that has a combination of interventions. And as always, working with peers is essential to every initiative involved.
Talking of which, will we see you at the DDN Conference on 11 July? We have a peer-led packed programme and an exciting day ahead, so we hope so!
Read the July/August issue as an online magazine (you can also download it as a PDF from the online magazine)
Claire Brown, editor