9AM – 10:30AM CTFolx in the LGBTQIA+ space have specific needs around safety, security, and inclusivity in the peer space. This session will explore some of the gaps and barriers in resources and recommendations for advocacy to fill in gaps and tear down barriers to be more inclusive of their experiences.
Drea Everett is a Wisconsin Certified Peer Specialist, CCAR trained Recovery Coach/Doula. I am a Cis-Gender female, mother, daughter, and fiancé. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
After struggling with substance use and mental health experiences for so long and finding recovery, I always knew I wanted to give back. It is my passion to help people experiencing substance use and mental health concerns, to support them into understanding recovery is possible through modeling and meeting folx where they are at in their journey.
Saving lives and helping people in addiction is what keeps me in my recovery today, and I want to continue to spread hope and awareness to everyone I work with.
Kaeden Watford is a certified peer support specialist and currently works for Safe Communities in a peer provider position, and also works at the LGBTQIA+ Outreach center in Madison, Wisconsin as the Opioid Overdose Prevention Specialist . He is a member of the African American Opioid Coalition and has done both Alternatives to Suicide and DOULA training. As a black trans man who has embarked on a journey of healing from trauma, substance use, and incarceration he has a lot of lived experience being a part of marginalized communities. It’s an important value of his to build connections in all of the communities he is a part of and identifies with. To try and empower them by showing them their own strengths, supporting them in finding their own pathways to healing, and exploring ways to create a life they feel is worth living.
