Sharing skills in Bristol

It’s been another busy and productive week for BDP staff as we attended two events, sharing skills with other supportive organisations in Bristol.

Peerfest

First up was Peerfest 2017, held by Bristol Independent Mental Health Network (BIMHN) at the newly revamped We Are The Curious (who we’ve partnered with in the past as part of our Energy Tree project).

Peerfest is an annual celebration of the importance, power and diversity of peer support – bringing peers together, from across Bristol and the UK, to share skills and experiences through talks and workshops.

We hosted a Bristol ROADS stall alongside DHI Bristol, bringing our knowledge of how alcohol and drug services can work with and utilise peers to further improve treatment services and people’s individual journeys in recovery.

Peerfest was run in partnership with Mind, Changes Bristol, Freedom of Mind and WellBeans Initiative.

Engagement Works

Later in the week, we were at Engagement Work, an interactive workshop and skill sharing event hosted by ACE (the Assertive Contact and Engagement Service).

The day was devoted to ideas and approaches to engaging people who struggle to access supportive services. We were there to talk about our Prism engagement service and share ideas about engaging with LGBT+ communities.

Our talk explored our experience at recent Bristol Pride festivals where we used surveys as positive engagement tools, rather than just for research. We also discussed the challenges involved with engaging with a diverse community – where we see people accessing support from multiple demographics and seeking support for a range of drugs and alcohol.

Other featured talks and workshops were held by Off The Record, One25 and Golden Key.

Learn more about PRISM