A lifetime of service
Peer Worker Maureen Steele has been an active and influential peer worker for some 30 years. She has been inducted in the NUAA Hall of Fame for her tireless and outstanding commitment to our community.
UN: What first made you step up and become a leader?
M: When I was young, a friend of mine that I was using with overdosed and died. We were young and stupid and new to opiates. We didn’t really understand what was going on. Regardless of age, when you’re first learning how to use a new drug, especially opioids, there’s a really dangerous period.
I was responsible for Ross’s death. It’s been 30 years, and it’s taken me until just this month to be able to say that out loud. And I’m still not coping with it. The responsibility that I feel has stuck with me my whole life. It was such a waste of life, and it didn’t have to happen that way.
When I was young and starting to use, I was given health messages like: ‘If they’re breathing slowly, that’s a bad sign.’ But what is breathing slowly? I used to sit and watch this guy on my couch and count 1, 2, 3 really slowly, and I’d get to like 18 and then he’d take a deep breath and I’d think: ‘Oh he took a breath, that’s good!’. You get this fear of: ‘I don’t want to have to deal with calling an ambulance or having the police come’ and so you’d start to convince yourself: ‘He’s ok’. But the reality is that breathing once every 18 seconds is not proper breathing. I didn‘t have a realistic grasp on how death occurs from overdose and I filled the gaps with my biases. And someone I cared for ended up dead because of that.
That experience made me want things to be better for people who use drugs, so I got involved in my community. It seemed stupid to me that you could go and get drunk at the pub, but we weren’t allowed to take our drugs of choice safely. Ross’s death made me want to talk about overdose and how to manage your use of drugs so you don’t die.
At the time I couldn’t talk about the actual experience because I felt so guilty - and because I needed to keep my illegal activities hidden. So, I became isolated in my feelings and learnt ways to push them down.
Now, as a senior peer worker, I feel I need to step up to show that these difficult conversations not only CAN happen, they NEED to happen to set the stage for us to share important information that can help us stay safe during our use of drugs.
UN: What advice do you have to help inspire peers to step up?
M: I think many drug users are used to being told they’re stupid and they start to believe it. We often internalise the stigma and take on the stereotypes. That means we have trouble accepting that we actually might have good ideas.
So, I want to encourage people – if you’ve got an idea, talk about it, and run with it. You never know when it might turn out to be really good. You might surprise yourself.
For me, being a leader is about seeing problems and getting inspired to find solutions. I’m an ‘ideas’ person and I’m good at finding solutions to problems. Because I am well-connected with the drug community, I have a way to share my ideas and find people to help me put them into action.
I’m currently working on an overdose prevention app for people who use opioids alone. It centres around a timer that can be set to a certain period of time (like 30 seconds). Each time the alarm goes off, you tap to restart it. If you don’t tap, an SMS goes to someone you trust to say you have overdosed, the door is unlocked, please get an ambo here ASAP.
It’s currently hit a legal snag, but you need to be resilient. Not all your ideas may work out quickly or ever. I first learnt that in 1999 when I was involved in advocating for the Heroin Assisted Treatment trial (heroin on prescription) that Prime Minister John Howard blocked at the last minute.
Some things I wish I’d pushed harder for, but you never know if the timing is right. One of those was take-home naloxone. I thought it was magic when an ambo used it to save a friend of mine. I advocated for it to be in the hands of opioid users, but I got a lot of resistance from health professionals. It is only now we have legal take-home naloxone. It is frustrating that people rarely listen to drug users.
UN: What are you most proud of achieving as a leader?
M: I am proud that I started off as a volunteer in drug user organisations in both NSW and WA (NUAA and WASUA) and have worked as a peer worker across the health sector ever since.
I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time during a growth period in harm reduction and drug treatment and to have been involved in many innovations.
There are a few key things that are particularly important to me. For example, I worked with staff and the service users of an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) clinic to introduce Biodone, a less harmful methadone option, into NSW. I worked with other peers on safer methadone injection and got that out to our community as a harm reduction resource in User’s News. Through NUAA, I helped to establish the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) in Sydney then worked there for 7 years where I focused on building a strong person-centred service employing peers. And I am particularly proud to have gained Council funding for the living tree Overdose Memorial in a Kings Cross park, and to have had a lead role in organising a peer-led annual memorial service in the park.
UN: What are you working on now?
M: I’ve been working at St. Vincent’s hospital for 4 years as a Peer Worker, in the alcohol and drug service. I work at Rankin Court, the opioid treatment clinic and Gorman Unit, which is an inpatient centre for withdrawal from alcohol and other drugs.
I like to work on 2 levels. I help improve people’s day to day lives by talking to them and advocating for their individual needs. I also like to advocate to improve systems for everyone.
At the moment, I am advocating to make takeaways a permanent feature of public OTP clinics. Everyone at Rankin court liked having takeaways during the lockdowns. I'm also trying to get vaporisers for tobacco in the detox unit because the non-smoking policy is a massive barrier for many people trying their best to complete an inpatient withdrawal program. It is a stressful and challenging time for all peers, no matter their alcohol or drug use. I am also keen to stop bag searching at Gorman Unit, which is currently mandatory for entry into the detox unit. There are so many reasons why that humiliating and ineffective hunt for ‘contraband’ should stop!
UN: Is there anything else you'd like to say to the community?'
M: I've come a long way over the last decades, and despite the stigma and guilt I've had to face, I'm so proud of being part of this community. I just want to encourage everyone around me to know that no matter what's going on in your life, keep going and keep looking for the opportunities to help your community.