Program founders draw on personal experience to provide peer support for addiction
Tim McConnell wrestled with drug abuse and gender identity as a teenager. When it reached a crisis, there was nowhere to turn to get help with both. So during almost two years in and out of drug addiction treatment, McConnell stayed silent when it came to identifying as transgender, fearing discrimination. “I felt as if I was forced to make a choice between my sobriety and my identity, and ultimately that meant I could have neither,” says McConnell, 27, who tried to cope by “compartmentalizing my life.”
With so much of recovery depending on honesty and addicts coming to terms with who they are, it was a huge dilemma. Eventually McConnell slowly opened up to one counselor, which began the process of self-acceptance that led to sobriety. McConnell, sober for eight years, is determined to change things so other LGBTQ youth struggling with addiction don’t feel they have to make that wrenching choice.
That’s why McConnell and Geoff Wilson, also recovering from drug addiction, co-founded Pieces to Pathways, a program that provides peer support, counseling, drop-ins and connections to services such as medical and family support for LGBTQ youth ages 16 through 29 who want help with substance abuse.
The pilot program launched this year through Breakaway Addiction Services in Parkdale with funding from the Toronto Central LHIN. The full program is currently on hiatus but an application is in for permanent funding.
The idea started with a conversation in 2014, recalls Wilson, 29, who has been sober for nine years and came out as transgender in 2013 after the process of addiction recovery provided “the chance to discover who I am.” That day, the two got talking about the many kids they saw every day who wanted support for substance abuse but felt they had no place to go that would be sensitive to their needs as LGBTQ youth. “We had nowhere to refer them,” says Wilson.
So they decided to create a place.
Pieces to Pathways is “a badly-needed program,” says Dennis Long, executive director of Breakaway, who says the agency is determined to secure ongoing funding of roughly $300,000 a year to get it up and running permanently.
While the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto runs Rainbow Services for LGBT adults, there is nothing comparable for youth, adds Long, who has been in the field for 30 years. “This has been a major problem in terms of addiction services for a very very long time. So when they approached me and showed me the work they were doing I was really impressed.”
The gap in services for transgender youth has been particularly notable. It’s part of a worldwide void that was also highlighted this month in a series of studies in the British medical journal The Lancet, which found transgender populations “grossly underserved” by public health.
In March, a study based on a survey of 220,000 Canadians found gay, lesbian and bisexual respondents reported twice the rates of anxiety and mood disorders. The researchers, from University of British Columbia, said that cohort was also at higher risk of heavy drinking.
The first step to get Pathways up and running, was to determine the need, which included a review of research literature, surveys and focus groups. The response was enthusiastic. Wilson and McConnell hoped for 200 responses to the survey and got 640.
In surveys, 66 per cent of youth said they wanted substance abuse services geared to LGBT youth. Of those who had received services, 65 per cent reported that attitudes of staff or other clients had a negative impact on their experience. The rates of substance use “were staggering,” says McConnell, with lifetime prevalence up to 26 times higher than rates documented in the general population.
They began a pilot program of peer-led support groups earlier this year. One group offered a harm-reduction approach and the other was abstinence-based.
Their final report concluded that a dedicated program where youth can safely share all aspects of their lives “is vital.” And without that space and staff who have personal experience in recovery, most wouldn’t have continued to show up, the report said.
Wilson and McConnell also want to shift attitudes in the system, by consulting with agencies on how they can make services more inclusive for LGBTQ clients, prevent discrimination and become better informed.
They have worked closely with Renascent, a Toronto treatment centre, observing everything from admissions processes to counseling and recommending changes.
A recently-announced $25,000 grant from the Laidlaw Foundation will cover costs of a new Pieces to Pathways project, which will provide one-on-one support to LGBTQ youth from visible minorities.
By Andrea Gordon
27 June 2016
