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The Kirklees peer education programme
Pete Hoey, Planning Development Officer (Substance Use and Diversity), Kirklees Safer Communities Service, Huddersfield
Abstract
Kirklees has a strong programme of peer education, which utilizes the experience and networks of ex/current users to deliver harm reduction to users. Since this began in 2005, the Programme has grown into the UK's biggest, explicit ex-user initiative. Benefits of the programme are that it manages to engage groups not in contact with services. Also, the peer relationship elicits high levels of honesty - essential in harm reduction work.
In 2008/9, the activity has been linked to assertively inoculating service users for Hepatitis A and B over a four week cycle. The key areas of education for the programme, include:-
- BBV Prevention - what are BBV's, and how to avoid them
- Overdose - how to avoid, and how to react
- Injecting - dialogue and safe advice
- Stimulants - implications for opiate or amphetamine users
- Alcohol and Poly-drug Use - brief interventions / info
- Rights and Responsibilities of Service Users - targeted at DIP SUs
- Sex Work - engaging sex workers
- Hep C Treatment Advice - how treatment works
- Crack Use Group Work - harm reduction for pre-contemplative users
- User's guides to local services - booklets for users
The programme has attracted hundreds of people - many who are not in touch with services, and allowed opportunities for participants to find out about/engage Tier 3 services. We expect that by April, around 100 service users will have been inoculated, and its participants will have received comprehensive advice on a range of issues, depending on need.
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Biography
After working in social work in Kirklees, and developing several supported housing services for drinkers and users, Pete moved to work at Kirklees DAAT in the role of Diversity Lead. Pete took the lead on service user and carer work, and developed a range of user and carer services and policies that are recognised at national level.
Pete oversaw the development of the first partnership level advocacy project, and soon after, developed the peer education programme, which works closely with all local providers. Pete is currently taking an MA in Criminal Justice and Diversity, and has used this to push forward new ground in terms of local equality and diversity work.
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