Crack the System: In Both Worlds: Peer Work Across Mental Health and AOD

For many peer workers, walking alongside people in the AOD space also means walking with them through mental health challenges. But services, systems, and even language often separate these worlds.

This 90-minute session centres peer workers who move between both spaces — mental health and AOD — and who bring invaluable knowledge about what’s possible when we stop working in silos. Together, we’ll explore how peer workers are bridging fragmented systems, supporting people holistically, and navigating the tensions of dual expectations, role clarity, and worker wellbeing.

This session will unpack:

• What it means to hold space for both AOD and mental health experiences
• How peer workers manage competing frameworks, services, and identities
• The emotional complexity and power of working “in both worlds”
• Strategies for peer sustainability and safety in dual-role spaces