This workshop shares some of the promising practices I’ve learned over a decade of fostering youth leadership with homeless and vulnerable youth within a harm reduction-based peer model. This workshop would be useful for people running or interested in designing a program that integrates leaders with “lived experience” of mental illness, substance use, poverty and/or homelessness as part of your service delivery model.

The facilitator will cover their thoughts, ideas and learning about:

• Centering and honouring substance user/sex worker expertise, talent, and desire to help peers and change systems
• The differences between using a peer model with a youth harm reduction program compared to an adult harm reduction program
• Curriculum and educational tools from peer trainings
• Negotiating power differences between staff who don’t identify as substance users, and harm reduction workers with lived experiences
• Supporting/mentoring/motivating harm reduction workers who are also service users
• Overcoming challenges/tips on working with people who use drugs