The ninTh naTional service user conference
‘DON’T GET MAD, GET ORGANISED’
said Si Parry fromMorph at the first DDN national
service user involvement conference in 2008, and
it was a message that set the tone for this
dynamic event, as delegates spoke out, question-
ed, participated – and most of all claimed it as
their conference, giving it a unique life of its own.
While more than 500 people attended that
first conference, most delegates were coming
wearing the badge of their local drug and
alcohol action team (DAAT), and while there
were a few nascent service user groups
attending they were clutching homemade
leaflets and often completely reliant on their
local service for survival.
Fast forward nine years, and how things have
changed. Many of the groups that were just
starting out back then – and some that weren’t
even a twinkle in their founders’ eyes – have
developed beyond all recognition. The 2015
conference saw a service user exhibition area
filled with professional stands and high quality
materials to rival the larger treatment providers.
Of course it’s not a story of untrammelled
success, and sadly some groups have not
survived round after round of budget cuts. It
would also be naive to claim that starting and
funding a group is easy, and most successful
groups credit the support they received from a
local commissioner or drug worker who believed
in them and backed them from the early days.
It’s a long hard slog making sure service users
are represented meaningfully, and the purpose
of the conference has never been clearer.
Many groups have managed to grow far
beyond their original remit, and engage in a wide
range of activities that would have been hard to
imagine when they started up. Across the
country we’ve been charting some highly
motivated groups prepared to challenge stigma
and support their members’ personal journeys.
Peer-led groups now operate as equal partners
supporting local treatment services, contributing
widely to the community. Campaigning for
national naloxone provision and other outreach
initiatives has also seen groups break down the
traditional barriers between harm reduction and
recovery to share common ground.
Peter Yarwood from Red Rose Recovery was
inspired to start a group after hearing speakers
at a previous year’s DDN conference. ‘Our
organisation is here for people who aren’t yet
members – it’s for people that don’t know who
we are yet,’ he said.
Hopefully this year’s event will once again be
the empowering networking opportunity that will
inspire service user groups and recovery groups to
start up, grow and flourish all over the country.
See you in Birmingham!
From little acorns…
20 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| February 2016
There’s sTill Time Tobook...
