There will be a deeper dive into the work that AOD peer workers engage in and what frameworks they adopt when working with people who access AOD services. A broader discussion will also cover the lived and living experience workforce (LLEW) and the challenges that LLEW face when working within organisations, alongside with the common misconceptions that they encounter.

This presentation will start with unpacking exactly what is lived and living experience and what does this mean within an AOD context. There will be a deeper dive into the work that AOD peer workers engage in and what frameworks they adopt when working with people who access AOD services. A broader discussion will also cover the lived and living experience workforce (LLEW) and the challenges that LLEW face when working within organisations, alongside with the common misconceptions that they encounter.

Throughout there will be case examples of what peer work looks like as well as highlighting the benefits of embedding LLEW within organisations.

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About the presenter

Benn Veenker is a passionate recovery advocate and is consistently working at breaking down the stigma associated with substance use and mental health. Benn has been sharing his lived experience over the past 12+ years with the goal of shortening the time it takes for individuals to seek help for their substance use and/or mental health. from the University of Melbourne. She currently works on the design of interventions to reduce stigma in healthcare settings. She also has experience conducting surveys on sexual health and substance use with young people.

Currently Benn is employed at Turning Point – Addiction, Treatment, Research and Education centre – as the Manager for Lived Experience Workforce and Advocacy where he intentionally uses both his lived and work experience to support the development and growth of the lived experience workforce across Turning Point.