Peer Q-Nect is a Queensland-based, peer-run, free phone service designed for people who use drugs. It is a service that is run by people who use or have used drugs.

The service supports people using substances in Queensland, with a particular focus on people who use opioids or people who are on ODTP (Opioid Dependency Treatment Program – including methadone, Subutex, Physeptone, Suboxone, Naltrexone and Buvidal) but anyone using drugs or experiencing any issues with drugs can call.

TRACKS chatted to Emily, who runs the Peer Q-Nect phoneline. She told us that Peer Q-Nect provides a range of support, guidance, and advocacy for anyone using drugs or experiencing issues with substance use.

Emily explained, ‘My own background is 25 years of experience with substance use; this was mainly opioid use, but I was a polydrug user, in both a problematic and a recreational way. I guess I bring a lot of my personal lived experience in navigating different systems, including the health system and the criminal justice system. Having lived experience helps me understand the stigma and the social exclusion that so many in our community face every day’.

Emily emphasises the importance of supporting people to self-advocate but also in ‘getting in there and fighting for people when we need to’.

Peer Q-Nect can help ensure individuals receive fair treatment and access to necessary medications. Emily said, ‘If need be, we can go in and bat for you or be that mediation point. Sometimes that external perspective can be powerful.’

Emily explained further that the Peer Q-Nect line can advocate with pharmacists or prescribers that don’t work well with you e.g. ‘had your take-aways revoked’. She discussed that they ‘can assist in finding another option, maybe negotiating a compromise or helping the worker understand the person’s circumstances to view them in a different way.’

Emily explains further, ‘Maybe you have a pharmacist or prescriber who’s not working that well with you or maybe you’ve had your take-aways revoked. We can assist in finding another option, maybe negotiating a compromise or helping the worker understand the person’s circumstances to view them in a different way.’

Emily tells us, ‘Peer Q-Nect understand stigma and can provide information on accessing treatment, prescribers and support. She says, Q-Nect understand there is no one size fits all and that ‘people deserve to be treated as individuals rather than seen through a narrow, one-dimensional lens’.

Peer Q-Nect also welcomes those who have encountered the criminal justice system, including those in prison, the watchhouse and on release. She says, ‘we know firsthand the many barriers our community face. We believe in fair access to healthcare and basic human rights.
Emily summarises, ‘I’m really conscious of that power dynamic that our community faces, that inherent lack of power, especially as a health consumer (and drug user) it can be tricky…we’ve got enough stigma as it is’.

If you need information on ODTP, general harm reduction or if you just want to have a bit of a yarn about drugs or drug use, give Peer Q-Nect a call on 1800 175 889. 

Peer Q-Nect operates between 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday to Friday And is a FREE CALL
You can also email Q-Nect at – ODTP@quivaa.org.au