It has been developed for those who want to work on enabling and increasing the meaningful involvement of people who use drugs in the development and implementation of services and policies.
The website aims to be:
- a resource of information on meaningful involvement
- a source of inspiration for all those working in the drugs field
- a work in progress as a database of information and experiences, continually seeking and adding new, inspiring and updated contributions.
25 years ago, the first peer initiatives started working as innovative means of providing HIV education. Since then, the scope of peer involvement has significantly widened beyond HIV prevention and health interventions to areas that cover numerous types of involvement, including client advisory boards, peer employment and training, peer-based overdose prevention initiatives, high-profile advocacy projects and internet-based networks.
All of these initiatives represent an increased demand for greater and meaningful involvement: peers should be at the forefront and crux of drug services and policies. Meaningful peer involvement should be an essential and guiding ethical principle and a cornerstone of modern social and health policies, because it’s ethically right, it works and it contributes to improving people’s lives.
We hope this online web-based resource will serve as a guidance and reference tool for individuals and agencies working in the drugs field. Above all, we hope that this website, the references and personal experiences will be a source of inspiration to expand current peer involvement collaborations and to start new initiatives.