A Year For Digital Transformation
Transformation into the digital world has been fundamental to DEN’s growth. Marking the founding steps on this digital journey, the 2019-2020 Annual Report has been developed with this transformation in mind.
Acknowledgement of Country
The Drug Education Network acknowledges the strength, resilience and capacity of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people and their deep and lasting cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship as ongoing custodians of the land and waters of lutruwita / Tasmania. We recognise that our organisation operates on the land of the traditional custodians and we pay our respect to Elders past and present. DEN is proud to work with the Tasmanian Aboriginal community to prevent the harms caused by alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
To prevent and reduce harm from drugs through leadership and education
The Drug Education Network (DEN) is a Tasmanian not-for-profit registered charity with a clear vision: Communities free from the harms of drugs. The organisation was founded in 1986 by a partnership between the Australian Lions Drug Awareness Foundation and the Australian Drug Foundation (Tasmania) as “The Lion’s DEN.”
DEN began as a small resource library funded to provide pamphlets and educational material to Tasmania for 15 months. Supported by the community, our founders and various funding partners, the Lion’s DEN became an incorporated entity in 1993, transforming into the Drug Education Network: a name that carries on to this day.
We provide leadership, projects, resources, education, training and events in a variety of formats using current evidence and best practice methods. DEN is lead agency for Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug (ATOD) health Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention (PPEI) in Tasmania, and is an active member of several working groups.
We provide our services across Tasmania for and with the whole population. DEN works in a landscape of courageous partnerships with organisations across health, education, justice and community sectors to develop innovative and effective solutions and to have a meaningful impact to prevent harm from drugs in our island community.
With every service we provide, DEN neither condones nor condemns the use of drugs. Rather, we acknowledge that drug use exists irrespective of legal status or societal norms. Our goal is to meet people where they are and encourage open dialogue that empowers the individual to be the primary agent of their own physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Follow Our Team
A Note from the Board Chair
A Note from the CEO
Our Board
DEN wouldn’t be where it is today without the ongoing support, selflessness, and broad professional skills of our board members.
David Daniels
Public Officer
Michael Robinson
Ordinary Member
To Oct ‘19
Sandra Lovell
Ordinary Member
To Oct ‘19
Simon Angilley
Ordinary Member
Since Feb ‘20
Tom Lillywhite
Ordinary Member
Since Feb ‘20
Philip Holliday
Chairperson (President)
Wayne Moore
Vice Chairperson
Allison Matthews
Vice Chairperson
Judy Travers
Secretary
To Dec ‘19
Emma Lovibond
Treasurer
Our Team
We’re so proud of our small and nimble team, and the high-impact work they do.
Shirleyann
CEO
Anita
Finance Officer
Maria
Educator (South)
Dave
Educator (South)
Maurice
Education (North)
Elida
Policy & Research Officer
Kory
Finance Assistant
Zoe
Project, Systems & UX Developer
Mary-Jane
Administration
Coordinator
Michelle
Administration Assistant
Follow Our Team
The people we support:
Front-line workers in community service organisations
Community Members
AOD specialist workers
School Teachers
Students
AOD peer workers
Is this you?
Please get in touch with our team at admin@den.org.au
An Unexpected Reality: COVID
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DEN has implemented changes to the way we provide our services:
RESOURCES
AOD resources continue to be available for the community sector and community members online, via post, and with contactless pickup.
LIVE ONLINE SESSIONS
Training and education sessions are offered live online.
AOD specialist workers
Thirteen key health promotion and prevention video messages have been created and shared online via Facebook and LinkedIn as part of our campaign “Staying Safe While Staying Home.”
RECORDED SESSIONS
Recorded training sessions, as requested by UTAS, are being developed to enable their students to access our educational sessions as part of a self-directed e-learning model. Primary Education students accessed their first pre-recorded session in August 2020.
EDUCATION
In partnership with UTAS, a health promotion and early intervention AOD unit for degree level Community Service students is in development (20 hour elective unit).
INFORMATION LINE
The DEN Information and Referral telephone line continued to be available between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, on 1300 369 319.
RADIO CAMPAIGNS
DEN worked with Southern Cross Austereo (state-wide), Hobart FM and City Radio (Launceston) to air four different community messages. These messages had a harm minimisation and prevention focus and provided listeners with details on how to seek help.
REMOTE SERVICE
A Telephone AOD Brief Intervention Session Template was developed to assist AOD generalist and specialist workers moving to online client service provision.
All government recommended workplace guidelines are being followed:
Completion of a COVID-19 Safety Plan in line with WorkSafe Tasmania’s requirements.
Risk management registers updated and in response, pandemic policies developed.
Many of our staff continue
to work from home part-time.
Staff who return to the office space do so on a rostered schedule to ensure 1.5m distancing can be implemented at all times.
Visitors by appointment only and in line with government guidelines for social distancing.
DEN Strategic Plan 2019-2024
Our Vision
Communities free from the harms of drugs
+
Our Purpose
To prevent and reduce harm from drugs through leadership and education
Our Values
Professionalism
We demonstrate professionalism through leadership, integrity and accountability
Excellence
We are a quality organisation that is both creative and evidence-based
Respect
We are non-judgemental and treat ourselves and others with respect, fairness and compassion
Collaboration
We are collaborative, responsive and inclusive in all that we do
Objective 1.
Provide leadership in evidence based drug education
1.1
Increase the profile and impact of DEN as the lead agency in Drug Education.
1.2
Undertake initiatives to reduce stigma and discrimination.
1.3
Inform government and non-government stakeholders through the provision of credible evidence-based education.
1.4
Build and maintain meaningful partnerships across all sectors and with research and education institutions.
Objective 2.
Provide best practice education, training and resources to improve the health and wellbeing of communities
2.1
Develop quality services and resources that are informed by evidence and research.
2.2
Develop and implement contemporary alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) education support and training.
2.3
Provide targeted initiatives for specific at-risk and vulnerable populations.
2.4
Develop targeted initiatives that prioritise education about legal drugs and drugs of community concern.
2.5
Raise awareness and develop resources and training for ATOD-related health conditions.
2.6
Implement evaluation frameworks to demonstrate the quality and impact of DEN’s programs, products and services.
2.7
Inform government and non-government stakeholders through the provision of credible evidence-based education.
Objective 3.
Be the credible and influential voice in Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention (PPEI) across the ATOD and community sectors
3.1
Increase profile and impact of DEN as the PPEI lead agency for the ATOD sector.
3.2
Grow PPEI lead agency brand awareness in the community sector.
3.3
Develop programs or initiatives that support DEN’s PPEI focus.
Objective 4.
Be a sustainable and agile organisation
4.1
Retain and support our diverse and engaged staff in a purposeful work environment.
4.2
Ensure excellent governance practices across the organisation.
4.2.1
Support organisational effectiveness, including skill development and succession planning.
4.2.2
Support a responsive and effective governance structure for the organisation, including monitoring and reporting practices.
4.3
Implement processes to achieve appropriate organisational accreditation.
4.4
Grow and diversify DEN’s income structure.
DEN Activities by Objective
Objective 1.
Provide leadership in evidence-based drug education
Rural Mental Health Tasmania Conference by Marion Hale – “Women, Alcohol and Pregnancy – Are We Telling the Truth?”
Winter School in Brisbane, July 2019, by Maria Duggan – “Women’s attitudes to cannabis use during pregnancy: pleasure, medicine or poison?”
DEN is currently working with the ATDC’s Local Drug Action Team overdose initiative for 2020. This is an educational initiative aiming to engage pharmacists and community members in conversations about preventing accidental overdose from opioid medications.
ATOD Peer Workforce Project: Funded by the Tasmanian Community Fund, Primary Health Tasmania, and Tasmanian Health Services South. This significant leadership project has been making steady progress, with the project partners having now completed an organisational get-ready training and a follow-up Q&A session.
The Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Council of Tasmania (ATDC) conference 2020 abstracts submitted and accepted:
wungana makuminya co-delivery between DEN and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) “Getting more for your training dollar”
Tobacco Free Communities George Town co-delivery between DEN and UTAS “Real-world financial incentive programmes for promoting smoking cessation: Results and lessons learnt from the Tobacco Free Communities trials”
Objective 2.
Provide best practice education, training and resources to improve the health and wellbeing of communities
A Pinterest Board has been created with a collection of curated FASD resources which provide current evidence, diagnostic criteria, FASD management and prevention approaches. This board has been designed specifically for services we have worked with, including school health nurses, youth workers and teachers.
13 key health promotion and prevention video messages which we shared online via Facebook and LinkedIn in our “Staying Safe While Staying Home Campaign.”
Throughout the festive season in December, a social media health promotion campaign featured the Mocktails + Mastery resource, highlighting holiday-themed non-alcoholic drink recipes and mental health and social wellbeing messages. This campaign reached 2194 Facebook users.
The “More Options for Managing Pain” resource will be distributed to community members through a collaboration with the Friendly Society Pharmacies in the Hobart region during the latter part of 2020. This resource gives community members information on how opioid-type substances work, what to look out for, how to minimise the risks and have additional options to consider for managing pain alongside healthcare professionals.
DEN has launched an overdose safety campaign: “Take a picture, Save a life”. This campaign focuses on encouraging viewers to save an image of overdose information on their phone or other device, so that they have this information at hand and know how to recognise signs of overdose and how to get help.
A suite of seven community-focused resources were revamped and released through DEN’s partnership with the Australian Lions Drug Awareness Foundation (ALDAF) with the following titles: Nicotine… is it just smoke? Talking about Alcohol and Drugs, How are you doing?, Worried about someone’s alcohol and other drug use? Cannabis…is it just a weed?, Party Safe, and Alcohol…Is it just a drink?. These have been well received by the sector and community and have been distributed to school health nurses, community sector organisations and to community members via the Brighton Local Drug Action Team (LDAT) program.
The Tobacco Free Communities project is a multi-organisation collaboration inside specific communities to provide an innovative approach for people who want to stop smoking. This project was driven by the community, with the local George Town pharmacy running the program, and major partner the Flinders Island Aboriginal Association Inc. (FIAAI) working out of the George Town Neighbourhood House and Community Hub to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) identifying participants. 55 participants enrolled, achieving a quit rate of 32.7%.
An updated Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) prevention campaign has been developed in co-design with young people, resulting in a series of Healthy Pregnancy ‘Postcards’ and posters. This health promotion campaign explicitly targets a younger cohort of men and women, with a design that is fresh, vibrant and designed to engage, with messages including: “Be alcohol-free this pregnancy”, “Our healthy pregnancy starts with us” and “Pregnancy + Alcohol don’t mix”. DEN conducted focus-testing sessions through our relationships with youth services, including Youth ARC and Headspace, as well as Hobart College students, to seek input and feedback on the design of these resources. The poster and postcards were distributed in March 2020. DEN engaged with a range of community sector, education and primary health organisations to introduce the resource. To date, 255 postcards and 28 posters have been disseminated.
Objective 3.
Be the credible and influential voice in Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention (PPEI) across the ATOD and community sectors
The Connection (DEN’s newsletter) is sent monthly to over 800 subscribers, with a focus in each edition on one resource and one project.
Connect with us to receive updates about our new projects, resources, and exciting training or education opportunities!
A session in the North West was conducted with ATOD, community sector and allied health workers on refreshing case management skills alongside DEN’s interactive resources. Further sessions were scheduled for early 2020 but these have been deferred due to the current social distancing restrictions. A brief Intervention Scaffold Masterclass has been developed and trialled with an ATOD specialist service in the NW and a statewide ATOD and other intervention service.
PPEI Community of Practice (COP) draws together professionals across many different sectors to promote PPEI best practice, share and collaborate on PPEI initiatives. This COP met four times in this period and will meet again in August 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the plan to convene a regional PPEI forum in September/October, but a date in 2021 is now being organised.
Addressing cannabis use with pregnant women: Using gender-responsive approaches is a new resource addressing perinatal cannabis use for ATOD workers and primary health care workers, including midwives, GP’s and nurses, is currently in development. This was shared with primary healthcare colleagues for their feedback prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health promotion via Community Radio:
As part of COVID-19 response, DEN worked with Southern Cross Austereo (state-wide), Hobart FM and City Radio (Launceston) to air four different community messages. These messages had a harm minimisation and prevention focus and provided listeners with details on how to seek help.
Health Promotion via Social Media:
Of the 110 Facebook posts from DEN, 70 contained specific content or messaging regarding ATOD prevention.
DEN’s Youtube Impressions increased by 70% (52.1k) and views increased by 56% (6.8k) compared to the previous year.
Objective 4.
Be a sustainable and agile organisation
In DEN’s Educator team, we welcomed Dave Reynolds in July and farewelled Marion Hale.We’ve also welcomed a number of consultants to assist with strategy and planning, including: Courtney Goudswaard, to assist with the implementation of DEN’s Marketing and Communication Strategy; Mai Frandsen, to assist in the finalisation of the George Town Incentivised Smoking Cessation Project; and Dr Anne Heath, to assist and coordinate DEN’s Quality Innovation Performance (QIP) accreditation process.
DEN uses current research and stakeholder consultation to inform the types of training and educational sessions developed to suit the needs of Tasmanian workplaces, schools, and the community.
We’d like to acknowledge how quickly the team was able to adapt and respond to COVID — moving to working from home, internal staff training via Zoom, and releasing the ‘Staying Safe while Staying Home Community Campaign’ in a timely manner.
A thank you to all the organisations and community members who made a tax-free donation during this year. They are always received with heartfelt thanks and allow DEN to stretch our funding to assist more people.
If you’d like to donate please get in touch with Shirleyann at ceo@den.org.au
DEN Funding
DEN utilises funds to best support our service provision in Tasmania
DEN Activities by Funding
Our 5 core funded activities in 2019-2020
1
Coordinate and support the implementation, monitoring and reporting under the Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention (PPEI) Framework and Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug (ATOD) Sector Implementation plan.
2
Support the delivery of evidence-based education programs within school communities.
3
Lead Agency for the ATOD Peer Worker Project (three-year fixed term project).
4
Provide leadership in the development and delivery of alcohol and other drug community information and education.
5
Provide Tasmanians with access to contemporary evidence-based alcohol and other drug information and resources.
DEN’s Impact Overview
An impactful year in the face of unprecedented session and workplace restrictions. Our strategic goal of becoming an agile team contributed greatly to our successes.
Number of training sessions conducted:
70
Support the delivery of Feedback responses from session participants:
188
Changed
Knowledge:
94%
of 657 participants reported* they had built on their knowledge of the topic overall.
Changed
Awareness:
83%
of 369 participants reported* a changed awareness and knowledge about the topic.
Changing
Behaviours / Practices:
84%
of 219 participants reported* they intend to change their practices and behaviours in response to the knowledge gained in the ATOD session.
2454
DEN Hardcopy Resources provided.
92
DEN Digital Resources provided.
3866
DEN Resource Page visitors.
9051
DEN Video Resource Views on YouTube.
DEN Sessions and Collaborations
Sector Makeup
A range of face-to-face education sessions, conferences, community sessions andcollaborations with organisations and groups from a variety of sectors*
www.den.org.au
Connect with us to receive updates about
our new projects, resources, and exciting
training or education opportunities!