Peer Education
OUT has been running our peer led harm reduction workshops for the past 3 years. The projects we run take place across Oxfordshire, ensuring we give out educational information regarding drug related deaths and blood borne viruses to as many drug users as possible.
OUT has proven through statements in our OD Project Annual Report that this workshop has reduced drug related deaths in Oxfordshire. Please see Annual report link below. OUT has also proven that peer education is a viable tool to raise awareness about drug related death and to train drug users on al manner of subject, OUT uses this tool in everyday business educating and informing drug users on their rights and responsibilities whilst in treatment and passing on recent treatment changes locally.
The workshops were initially run by myself, now are run by OUT’s Project Support Worker and OUT’s team of volunteers.
OUTSMART Overdose Prevention and Response project:
This project takes place for 4 hours, over 2 afternoons. The workshop informs drug users on all issues relating to overdose prevention, dispelling popular myths on how to respond to an overdose situation, discussing risks associated with overdose and highlighting overdose signs.
The 2 nd afternoon is run by Richard Sharpey, our Paramedic from Oxfordshire Ambulance Service who comes to the group and teaches basic life support techniques to the attendees, drug users receive £20 to attend to value the time they give and as a payment for passing these messages on through the peer groups. The payments we give are backed by Oxfordshire Drug Action Team and the national Treatment Agency.
OUTLIVE Hepatitis C Project:
This project takes place on one afternoon per month in various locations around Oxordshire. The workshops are two hours long and concentrate on all aspects of this blood borne virus. Many users still do not have contact with services and therefore are missing out on all the life saving messages they should be receiving from the drug treatment workers in Oxfordshire and even when they are in treatment, lots are not offered Hepatitis C testing or Hepatitis B vaccinations, especially those in rural areas of Oxfordshire where many users work full time jobs as it is difficult to sustain a full Heroin using habit in areas such as these due to lack of places to make money illegally, so do not have the time to go into services, be assessed and have to take lots off time off work to access a prescription.
These workshops have proven to be very popular and are always full; we are only able to provide 1 workshop per month in Oxfordshire this coming year due to financial resources failing at present.
Drug users receive £10 to attend these sessions.
OUT’s work in 2006 will focus around ensuring ALL drug users who enter the treatment system in Oxfordshire, whether through the DIP route or through the health route will receive this testing and vaccination programme. OUT at present, are preparing to conduct an anonymous testing scheme through our peer led needle exchange in Oxford City. This will inform the numbers of those infected in the homeless community in Oxfordshire.
OUT will also, this year, be ensuring that the Oxfordshire DAATs Harm Reduction Strategy is being taken on board by services and drug users finally get the harm reduction education they have been lacking whilst in treatment, especially tier 4 treatments (residential rehabilitation) in Oxfordshire.
If any user groups or Drug Action Team’s wish to access training and all the documents needed to set up, run and evaluate these workshops in their DAAT area, please do not hesitate to call an OUT staff member on the contacts on our Home page
Thank you