Jude Byrne Award Recipients Announced

INHSU and INPUD (The International Network of People Who Use Drugs) are excited to announce the recipients of the Jude Byrne Award, a nine-month mentorship program that will foster expertise and resilience in the next generation of female leaders.

The award was announced in October last year as a way to honour the memory of Jude Byrne, a pioneering advocate for the human rights of people who use drugs, an INHSU board member, a mother, and so much more. 

There were over 25 nominations from 15 countries, with two recipients being chosen after an extensive judging process with community representatives. Congratulations to our two recipients:

Danielle - Jude Byrne Award WinnerDanielle Russell

Location: Phoenix, United States
Bio: A d
What are you most excited about for the mentor program: My hopes for the mentorship program are to have support navigating the set-up and implementation of analytical drug testing services that are collectively owned by people who use drugs here in my community.

There is rapid mobile laboratory testing available for everything from laundry mats to car washes (to maintain environmental compliance), so there is no reason people who use illicit drugs shouldn’t have access to potentially life-saving information that this kind of drug testing resource can provide.

If we can have these analytical testing services available for a car wash, we should certainly have them available to protect people’s lives and bodies from harm.  Additionally, I’m looking forward to, and am grateful for, the opportunity to learn from others with more experience outside of my community.

What topics do you hope to cover in your mentor program:  Drug contamination and the lack of transparency into drug quality/concentration/characterization is increasingly an issue here.  Ultimately, I want us to have mobile, rapid turnaround drug testing services with all levels of analysis and data owned by people who use drugs.  

 

Yatie Jonet - Jude Byrne winner

Yatie Jonet

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Bio: Yatie has harm reduction field expertise and is currently affiliated with the Persatuan Insaf Murni Malaysia as an Engagement Officer, a role she secured after taking steps to become an independent community advocate. More importantly, Yatie is a reliable and resourceful friend, a loud and vocal community advocate, a community mobiliser and human rights defender. She is a person who uses substances and has also experienced imprisonment and detention centres. 

What are you most excited about for the mentor program: I’m excited to take this opportunity to build my capacity and become self-equipped with the knowledge which will help me achieve my goals in the drug policy reform advocacy movement. I’m also excited to gain knowledge from field experts who can guide me to become a better community advocate. 

What topics do you hope to cover in your mentor program: I’m very interested in community-led research and would like to initiate a new research project from the community, for the community in supporting local, regional and international drug policy reform movements. I’m also hoping to build my personal capacity as a communicator, by learning to be extra vocal and to fearlessly advocate through social media platforms.

The Jude Byrne Award includes a nine-month mentorship program that will be delivered by INPUD, tailored to the awardees, and co-created in partnership with them. There will be $10,000 USD per awardee allocated to supporting participation in the program. Alongside the mentor program, awardees will also receive a full scholarship to attend the INHSU 2022 conference which will take place from 19-21 October 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland.

“This is the first year of the Jude Byrne Award and we have been overwhelmed by the number of applicants and the support for the award. It was a difficult decision to decide between the incredible applicants, but we know that Danielle and Yatie will do Jude proud. We are excited to work with them both and to continue to build the strength and resilience that Jude was renowned for,” Judy Chang, executive director of INPUD.

The Jude Byrne Award is a joint initiative between INHSU and INPUD, with the plan to make it an annual award to honour Jude’s memory. Thank you to everyone who applied.

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