Leading with heart
Three exceptional Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) from Drug User Organisations around Australia give us their take on peer leadership:
Mary Harrod from NUAA
Sione Crawford from Harm Reduction Victoria (HRVic) and
Geoff Davey from Queensland Injectors Health Network (QuIHN).
A journey begins with a single step (and a backpack full of syringes)
Drug User Organisations (DUOs) have been funded in Australia for about 30 years. They began to combat the biggest threat to people who inject drugs since prohibition: HIV/AIDS. We urgently needed a way to stay safe and began handing out new syringes – the start of the Needle and Syringe Programs (NSPs). NUAA literally began with a few people with backpacks of fits walking the streets.
Once government funding was in place, the DUO agenda went on to include other blood borne viruses like hepatitis C; a full harm reduction program including things like overdose and vein care; and, of course, drug treatment. At the core of it all, we address stigma and discrimination and prohibition.
Now, DUOs have a greater role than ever before, representing a diversity of people who use drugs. No matter what kind of drugs you use, how or how often you take them, you are an important member of the drug using community and DUOs are there for you.
The Australian community of people who use drugs is very lucky to have people with skills, experience and strategic vision in key roles. These are people who role model the way people who use drugs can bring our values, commitment and passion into the professional space to make a real difference in our community.
We at UN know we are taking a risk in spotlighting them like this! None of them would want this piece to be just about them. They continually credit their achievements to their org’s staff and volunteers together with their Board members, org membership, service users and the community that is central to their work. These are people who genuinely serve, not people who want an entry in Wikipedia!
Risky or not, UN takes this opportunity to acknowledge their massive contribution to our movement and thank them for the personal sacrifices they have made to step up in these very public and demanding roles.
When you realise people like these have your back, you know the world is finally starting to make sense!
UN: Why did you want to be the CEO of a DUO?
Mary:
Honestly, I never really did! I had recently re-connected with a woman I had met years before, Julie Bates, who was on the NUAA Board. She encouraged me to apply as she knew my history as a drug user and was familiar with my work. I started to think about applying for the role because of the challenge and opportunity to do good. The organisational values also closely reflected my own. I thought long and hard about applying and discussed the implications of the role with my children as I know that being public about being a drug user would affect them. I have continued to have that discussion with them. I’ve seen first-hand how policies and services related to alcohol and other drugs (AOD) work and don’t work. The issue touches many parts of my life, family and friends, but I’m 100% sure when I took on the role, most people were like ‘WHAT!?’. No one knew my history around drug use, because in my previous role as an academic researcher, it was not something that was easy to be open about. Even though I worked in hep C research, I had probably told only one colleague I consider a friend about my lived experience.
Sione:
Drug user organisations are my home. I feel so engaged and aligned with my work here. I took on a management role because I saw that the only way to create bigger change for our community was to take on more responsibility. I really enjoy leading people who are as passionate about harm reduction as me.
Geoff:
I joined QuIHN to have more impact in the harm reduction space and to contribute to reducing stigma and discrimination for our communities. After working directly under the last CEO for many years, the opportunity arose to undertake the CEO job.
UN: What are you most proud of about being a leader?
Mary:
I’m proud of how NUAA has helped a diverse group of peers find their voice, take leadership positions, and change the dialogue around drugs in NSW. The AOD sector used to have the attitude that NUAA was a niche org representing a small group of people. Now, we’re in a leading role across the state in many areas, and we reach and represent a bigger and more diverse group than ever before.
Sione:
The things I’m most proud of have not been achieved on my own. I helped to decriminalise the possession and sharing of sterile injecting equipment in ACT and Victoria. I’ve also helped to highlight how stigma and discrimination holds back people who use drugs. When I started working in AOD, stigma was barely mentioned and now it’s mainstream.
Geoff:
I am most proud of the staff who make up our resilient and innovative organisation – I am humbled to see people achieving goals and really growing to reach their full individual potential.
UN: What has been most challenging?
Mary:
There are definitely a lot of challenges. For me, one challenge has been creating a supportive environment within the organisation and within the community. It’s hard to find leaders in this space, and to do so we need to recognise the people involved in these organisations, and in this sector are our allies. We need to support and uplift each other and shed our natural tendency towards suspicion.
Sione:
Stigma and discrimination impacts everything we do. To start with, drug users internalise stigma by taking to heart all the damaging things said about people who use drugs. Potential peer workers also worry that by working with us, they will be seen as a drug user, and can’t move on to work in other orgs or sectors.
Another big thing is that other service providers and sector partners often don’t give us the respect we deserve, and we have to prove ourselves repeatedly. If a drug user is spotted being tired in a meeting, people assume it is because we’re on drugs. But if a doctor is spotted, it’s because they’ve been working too hard and too long!
Geoff:
It is hard to single one challenge out. I feel like in the face of adversity we often see our best self and best work. COVID-19 has been one of those difficult challenges, but it has also been one of those opportunities for QuIHN to be at our best.
UN: Why is it important to have peers working in AOD?
Mary:
Would this question be asked to a leader in Aboriginal health? Probably not, because it’s taken to be a self-evident truth that Aboriginal people should determine the best way forward for Aboriginal communities. Thankfully, the value of peers in the AOD space is starting to become self-evident. If we want to reach people who use drugs, the best way to do that is through peers. It takes peers to reach people who won’t visit health services due to stigma. Peers are the most important stakeholder, so they should be central in policy making and research too, not just service delivery!
Sione:
The only way to create effective AOD policies and services is for the people who experience them to be involved in designing and running them. It is impossible to replace lived experience.
Having peers working in AOD is important, but they also need to be allowed to openly identify as peers. When a service allows a Peer Worker to be open about being a peer, the community is more likely to believe the service is serious about providing a good service.
Geoff:
Peer workforces are crucial to effective reach, engagement and improved satisfaction for clients. Celebrating the role of peer workforces also helps reduce stigma. Peer workforces can be catalysts for system change, by challenging negative attitudes and providing inspiration.
UN: What advice can you give peers who want to step up as leaders?
Mary:
There are many ways to lead. You can be a leader without speaking to the media or managing lots of people. You could be a Peer Worker, working 1-on-1 to help other peers grow.
Get a good grounding in whatever skills you need to become the best you can be in that space.
You need to learn self-care.
You need to be able to look at other people’s points of view and be patient.
You also need resilience, which comes from how well you look after yourself, and how well you look after the people around you.
Sione:
I was nervous about applying for a leadership position, and another peer advised me, “You should just go for it, even if you don’t feel ready, because you will rarely ever feel ready for the next step, and if you wait until you feel ready, the opportunity will have passed you by! If other people think you’re ready, then you probably are”.
Being a peer leader is similar to being a Peer Educator. A good educator realises they’re learning as much from the people they’re educating. You need to be open to learning from the people you’re teaching or leading.
Geoff:
Take on challenges when they arise, whether it be a new job opportunity, a new project, new training and/or skills, or just the day-to-day ones we are faced with. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow.
Don’t be afraid to reach out for support and guidance. Find a mentor you can trust.
Support the people around you to be their best and expect the same in return.