Association of Participating Service Users

The Association of Participating Service Users (APSU) is a Victorian consumer representative body at the Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC).

APSU believes that people who use drug and alcohol services have a wealth of knowledge and experience.

APSU has been set-up to ensure that people who use alcohol and other drug services opinions, ideas and experiences contribute to policy, research, service provision and professional development. APSU draws guidance and direction from an advisory committee made up mostly of consumers.

APSU’s membership is free and both consumers and service providers are encouraged to join. APSU has conducted research, developed and disseminated written information materials and newsletters, conducted awareness raising.

APSU’s Mission

To work collaboratively with key stakeholders to increase community (consumer), participation in drug treatment and care provider systems.
To increase service user impact on relevant policy development and implementation at the local, state and national level.
To promote, encourage and assist service users in the development of service user run programs and activities at the local level.

Resources
We have a great collection of resources to assist you.
Consumer Participation
Consumer Participation
APSU Become A Member
We invite you to join us in having a say.
Speaker Bureau
Join Speaker Bureau
Request Speaker
Speaker Request Form
"Your Feedback Matters"
Your Feedback Matters
Podcasts
Podcasts
Contact Us
Have a question? Please don't hesitate to contact us.

CARE Ideas Exchange

The CARE Ideas Exchange is a key outcome of the Consumer Participation Training project, which took place at the ibis Melbourne Hotel & Apartments on Thursday 4th May 2017. Over 90 people, from across Victoria and interstate, attended this full day event focusing on the role and future of consumer participation in the Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) sector.

Following are the PowerPoint presentations from the day:

Overview of Project
MC, Heather Pickard, Chief Executive Officer, SHARC

Power and Passion: Why Your Experience Matters and How to Drive Change in the AOD Service Sector
Keynote by Jacqui Gibson-Roos, consumer & Darlene Cox, Executive Director of Health Care Consumers Association Inc.
Presented by Jacqui Gibson-Roos

‘The Big Toolbox’ Guide to Starting a Consumer Group Russell Chilcott & Richard Gornall, the former Southern Region Consumer Advisory Council (SRCAC)
Russell Chilcott & Richard Gornall, the former Southern Region Consumer Advisory Council (SRCAC)

High Quality Care in the 21st Century
Professor Jane Burns, Professor of Innovation and Industry at the University of Sydney

‘Let Love In’ Fostering Family Participation Workshop
Edita Kennedy, APSU Project Worker & Marg Quon, family member

Creating an Effective Inter-professional Network of Leaders in Mental Health
Jo Stubbs, Project Manager at Victorian Mental Health Interprofessional Leadership Network

Advocating for Change from Within
Wayne Wright, Manager of Southern Dual Diagnosis Service

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Consumer Participation Training Resources

Training Resources for Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Services in Victoria

A project funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health, Substance Misuse Service Delivery Grant Fund

APSU has delivered numerous Consumer Participation Training in each of the AOD cathcments in Victoria.

The practical training courses aimed to teach AOD workers how to improve the participation of consumers in the sector and more specifically in their own organisations. Participants had ample opportunity to discuss and develop an action plan for participation and were then supported to bring this training back to their own organisations.

These Consumer Participation training resources are here to assist you and your organisation in successfully implementing and embedding consumer participation into your organisation’s culture, processes and procedures. APSU staff are more than happy to assist you with any questions about the training materials or even if your considering a training session for your organisation. We can be contacted on apsu@sharc.org.au

Consumer Participation Training Course Outline

Consumer Participation Training Course Instructor Kit

Consumer Participation Course Workbook

Consumer Participation Management Course

Managers Training Workbook

Consumer Participation Action Plan Template

Consumer Participation Board presentation

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"Better Practice" Resources

APSU Sample Consumer Participation Plan

Remuneration-Position-Paper- APSU Oct 2017

SHARC-Consumer Participation-Policy

Community Advisory Committees (CAC) – Six Steps

CAC Example Recruit Ad

CAC example questions for Interview

Want to share your organisations Better Practice in consumer participation? Just complete the form below and attach your document as a pdf.

Upload Better Practice to APSU

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Resources

APSU and VMIAC Regional Roadshow Project

Sitting on the outside, looking in- Report on the 2018 APSU and VMIAC Regional Roadshow Project

APSU Forum on Prescription Monitoring and Codeine Legislation Changes

Forum

APSU Summary of Safe Scripts Forum 2017

Safe Script Forum – Supports for Consumers

So you want to start a consumer group? – The story of SRCAC

This publication has been developed by the members of The Southern Region Community Advisory Council (SRCAC).

Broadening the Source

A practical guide to family participation in the Victorian alcohol and other drug sector.

Straight from the Source

A practical guide to consumer participation in the Victorian alcohol and other drug sector.

The Peer Model Manual

A step-by-step practical guide to the three APSU training modules:

Peer Helper Training
Experts by Experience
Speaker Bureau

Locked Out

Experiences of AOD consumers with a criminal record accessing employment and education.

Remuneration Position Paper

Position paper on remuneration and reimbursement of consumers of alcohol and other drug services.

Consumer Participation

A wealth of consumer participation resources including training materials, handouts, exercises and the instructor toolkit.

Click here to view and join our mailing list for the ‘Consumer Participation in Action‘ e-Newsletter

Consumer Participation

Consumer participation is broadly defined as the process of involving health consumers in decision making about health service planning, policy development, priority setting and quality in the delivery of health services. A consumer is someone who uses, has used, or is eligible to use alcohol and other drug services.

Consumer participation in the alcohol and other drug sector consists of including consumers (as defined above) in the decision making processes around:

their own treatment
service planning, development, delivery and evaluation
AOD policy
AOD research
education and training of AoD professionals.

We invite you to scroll down and explore the consumer participation resources, activities and better practice examples. (selecting the heading or picture will open a new tab)

Want to share on our website your organisations”Better Practice” in consumer participation resources?

Simply fill in the fields and upload/send your pdf documents and we will upload them to our “Better Practice” page.

Upload Better Practice to APSU

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Straight from the Source, developed by APSU, is a practical guide to consumer participation in the Victorian alcohol and other drug sector.

Broadening the Source, developed by APSU is a practical guide to family participation in the Victorian alcohol and other drug sector.

Training Resources

“Better Practice” Examples

This page provides examples of Better Practice in consumer participation. From this page you can upload/send us any examples your organisation would like to share.

CARE Ideas Exchange– May 2017

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News

SHARC awarded in the National Alcohol and Other Drugs Excellence and Innovation Awards

Posted: 25 June 2019

The Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC) has been awarded the 2019 National Alcohol and Other Drugs Excellence and Innovation Awards: Treatment and Support Award for its Peer Workforce Development program. The prestigious awards, which were this year hosted by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, recognise and celebrate the achievements of the incredible people and organisations doing exceptional work to prevent and reduce alcohol and other drug harms in Australia. SHARC established Peer Projects in…

Lived Experience Workforce Strategies Launch Event

Posted: 13 June 2019

SHARCs Peer Projects and the Victorian AOD Peer Workforce Community of practice, along with various stakeholders, have worked to develop a strategy for the Alcohol and other Drug (AOD) Peer Workforce in Victoria. This strategy will be launched with the strategy for the consumer mental health workforce in Victoria and The strategy for the family carer mental health workforce in Victoria. You are invited to the official launch of Victoria’s lived experience workforce strategies. Each…

“Just because you use drugs doesn’t mean you can’t look out for your best interests''. -A quote from the latest episode of the APSU Podcast.

Posted: 31 May 2019

Check out the latest episode of Straight from the Source, ”Taking back power over her health”- where we speak to Tara about her experience with childhood trauma, going through the court system as a victim of crime and fighting to improve flaws in the AOD system. Tara speaks about gender, class, and other societal factors which impact upon substance use and treatment in an informative and stirring interview. You can check out all…

Peer Work in Practice Workshop - Supporting the SEMPHN region

Posted: 1 May 2019

Peer Projects recently delivered a two day Peer Workforce Development Workshop ‘Peer Work in Practice’ for the lived experience workforce from the South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network (SEMPHN) region. The two day workshop provided a knowledge base for contemporary Peer Work and was enriched by the experiential learnings of participants. Attendees included those from the sectors of Alcohol and Other Drugs, Homelessness, Mental Health and Justice which resulted in robust learnings and sense of…

Flipside

Flipside No 48

2019 Summer/Autumn – “High” on the career ladder

Flipside No 47

2018 Spring – Food

Flipside No 46

2018 Winter – Love is love

Flipside No 45

2018 summer – Harm reduction

Flipside No 44

2017 winter – Relationships

Flipside No 43

2017 autumn – Stigma

Flipside No 42

2016 spring – Opportunities

Flipside No 41

2016 autumn/winter – The anniversary edition

Flipside No 40

2015 winter – This one goes out to the ones we loved

Flipside No 39

2015 autumn – Privacy, confidentiality, anonymity

Flipside No 38

2014 spring – Ice

Flipside No 37

2014 winter – Education

Flipside No 36

2014 autumn – It’s the little things…

Flipside No 35

2013 spring – Change

Flipside No 34

2013 winter – Out of the red & into the black

Flipside No 33

2013 summer – Consumer participation

Flipside No 32

2012 spring – Prescription drugs

Flipside No 31

2012 autumn/winter – Recovery and peer support

Flipside No 30

2011 spring/summer – Criminal records

Flipside No 29

2011 winter – Home sweet home

Flipside No 28

2011 autumn – Smoking

Flipside No 27

2010 winter – Love

Flipside No 26

2010 autumn – Gambling and other addictions

Flipside No 25

2009 summer – Hep C and other stuff

Flipside No 24

2009 winter – Parenthood

Flipside No 23

2009 summer – Peers

Flipside No 22

2008 spring – The black and white of waiting times

Flipside No 21

2008 autumn – Before it comes to this – teeth and other health issues

Fipside No 20

2008 summer – Songlines and footprints

Flipside No 19

2007 spring – Pissed

Flipside No 18

2007 autumn/winter – Drugs for drugs

Flipside 2007 Summer

2007 summer – Boulevard of broken dreams

Flipside 2006 Spring

2006 spring – Dual diagnosis: under pressure

Flipside 2006 Winter

2006 winter – Centrelink: welfare law turns nasty

Become A Member

APSU believes that individuals who use alcohol and other drug treatment services are the reason the system exits; their needs, strengths and expertise should drive the system. We invite you to join us in having a say. We need your help to give us all a fair go. If you would like to become a member, (at no cost), please fill out the form below.

First Name
Name*
First Last
Address*
City/Suburb*
Postcode*
Preferred Phone*
Email*
Languages spoken at home
Cultural Identity
I am a:*
- Service User
- Service Provider
- Family Member
- Other
Age*
- 16-24
- 25-35
- 36-45
- 46-65
- over 65
I would like to:
- Receive APSU's " Flipside" magazine
- Be sent information on how to become involved
- Join APSU Speaker Bureau
How did you find out about APSU?
Confidentiality Statement: All personal details obtained by APSU will be kept confidential and only used for the purposes outlined above.
Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Speaker Bureau

APSU is inviting expressions of interest from people with a lived experience of alcohol and/or other drug (AOD) misuse and family members affected by a loved one’s AOD misuse to become members of our Speaker Bureau.

APSU’s Speaker Bureau members are people who are willing to speak publically at forums, meetings, presentations, conferences and other community or corporate events. Speaker Bureau members nominate themselves for this role and they choose what topics they are prepared to speak about.

Speaker Bureau members are remunerated as participants (as well as trained and supported by APSU) and are empowered in their endeavor to help raise awareness, overcome stigma and shame, and educate people about addiction, recovery and hope.

The vast majority of evaluations over the years demonstrate that Speakers Bureau members have an immediate, positive, and often transformative effect, on their audience members.

If you would like to become a Speaker Bureau Member simply join APSU. Membership is free. Join Here

Request Speaker

Speaker Request

APSU’s Speaker Bureau members are people who are willing to speak publically at forums, meetings, presentations, conferences and other community or corporate events. If you would like to request a speaker for your event please complete this form. Remember to allow a minimum of 2 weeks notice to help us in finding a suitable speaker for you.

Name of Organisation/Agency:*
Address*
Street Address Suburb/City Postcode
Contact Person*
First Last
Phone*
Mobile
Email
Date Speaker is Required*

DD
MM
YYYY
Number of Speakers Required:*
Gender Required?*
- Female
- Male
- No Preference
NB: A female and male speaker will give a broader experience
Type of Speaker:*
- Family member affected by Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD)
- Person with lived experience of AOD
- Both
What type of event is this? (I.e conference, forum, support group)*
What Time will the speaker(s) be required to attend?*

: HH

MM
Will there be media present?*
- Yes
- No
- Unsure
Will there be photography/recording*
- Yes
- No
- Unsure
How many participants are expected for this event?
Content of Speakers’ Presentation:
Presentations will be based on the personal lived experience of AOD or dual diagnosis (co-occurring substance use and mental health conditions), use of the service system, achievement of ‘recovery’, health, well being and relationships. Please indicate up to 3 broad topics that encompass your goals for the presentation:
Sensitive Issues:
Please list any issues or topics that require prior discussion of sensitivities particular to your participants, organisation or community. List any other comments that may assist. For example, cultural considerations or topics not to be mentioned:
Who will be the support/contact person for speaker(s)?*
First Last
Phone number of support/contact person:*
Who is the contact person responsible for Speaker Payment?*
First Last
APSU recommends payment be made to the speaker(s) on the day of event. APSU will contact you to discuss recommended fees , quotes or any invoicing requirements.
How did you hear about the APSU Speakers Bureau?
- Have used before
- Brochure
- Website
- Referred to / Other
Comments
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

"Your Feedback Matters"

This quick survey is a way to better understand your experience in accessing the Victorian Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Treatment system. By gathering your experiences APSU can work with the AOD treatment sector to make continuous improvements to the system in the future. Alternatively if you would like complete the survey and provide feedback in person with someone at APSU phone:

1300 442 552

Monday – Friday 9 am -5 pm.

(Leave a message for a callback if unattended, engaged or outside business hours).

THIS SURVEY IS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS AND PEOPLE WHO USE/HAVE USED VICTORIAN AOD SERVICES.

THIS SURVEY IS NOT DESIGNED FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS.

Start Survey – Click Here (opens new window)

Feedback Flyer

Podcasts

‘Straight from the Source’ looks at a range of different issues relevant to those impacted by drug and alcohol use from varying perspectives and talks real, honest stories, straight from the source.

The podcast broadcasts stories which challenge stereotypes around addiction and substance use and opens up conversation around the areas of life where substance use intersects such as mental health, homelessness, family violence, parenting issues and the criminal justice system.

Through hearing peoples stories we hope to increase awareness, challenge stigma and open up the space for multiple perspectives around substance use, self-growth and recovery.

These stories assist individuals and communities to feel heard and less alone. They also incite discussion around Australian Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) systems and the challenges within them.

We will have more guests and more stories coming to you monthly.

Straight from The Source is the voice of the Association of Participating Service Users (APSU), a service of the Self-Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC). APSU is a Victorian consumer representative body, which believes that the needs, strengths and expertise of people who use drugs and alcohol should drive the system and their voices should be heard.

Podcast episodes and further information on APSU is accessible through APSU online, APSU Facebook Spotify ITunes and all major podcast apps.

Just a reminder that the views expressed by our guests are not necessarily reflective of those of APSU and SHARC.

*Warning- the podcast discusses challenging topics which may be triggering for some individuals. If listening brings up any issues for you, and you would like to speak to someone, in Australia you can call Directline 24/7 for drug and alcohol help on: 1800 888 236 or Lifeline for 24/7 crisis support on: 13 11 14

Podcast Music is from Jimmy Loops and can be found through Facebook at Big Jimmy Loops or YouTube at Mr Jimmy Loops.

© 2019 Association of Participating Service Users, a service of Self Help Addiction Resource Centre Inc. (SHARC). All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce or republish this material, please contact APSU at apsu@sharc.org.au

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