Project Peer2Peer
Strengthening Peers' Involvement in Outreach Work
The Peer2Peer Project (2018-2021), coordinated by the Portuguese APDES and co-funded by the European Commission, involved nine European partners. The project aimed to increase the effectiveness of organizations that work through outreach methods with PWUD by involving peers in the implementation of their activities. The aim was also to improve cooperation between peers, outreach workers, small dealers and law enforcement representatives.
Peer work is one of the most effective forms of interventions in working with people who use drugs, as confirmed by research and evaluation. Education, prevention and outreach activities carried out by trained peers themselves in the community make it possible to establish relationships and trust.
In the Project, different research institutions working in the field of social intervention and advocacy – from Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Greece and Lithuania – developed qualitative research on formal and informal collaboration between key actors of interventions. These activities allowed the development of recommendations for good practices and common methods for integrating peers into teams.
The project also included an advocacy strategy to improve collaboration and practice by bringing the topic on political agendas and by promoting the implementation of evidence-based strategies at national and European level.
Project partners were: Regenboog Groep (HL), Free Clinic (BL), EHRA (LT), PREKURSOR (PL), PRAKSIS (GR), RRF (HU), ASUD (FR) and University of Porto (PT)
Project Gruntvig
APDES was the coordinator of the Grundtvig learning partnership “Empowerment through non-formal education: Experiences and impacts with vulnerable individuals, groups and communities”(2012-2014).
The goal of this partnership – which involved organisations from 4 countries (Italy, Poland, Portugal and United Kingdom) – was to share experiences and methodologies to empower vulnerable individuals (financially excluded people, poor communities, unemployed individuals, people who use drugs, sex workers, etc.). The final product of this partnership was a recommendations manual.
