Jen Webster
Interview type: General
Done?: No Created time: November 12, 2025 8:08 PM Done: No Seeds: SMART Stories ([link removed]otion.so/SMART-Stories-8d21c8cb4f254e66940f4de792bfdf70?pvs=21)
Jen Webster
Jen Webster: [00:00:00] I'm Jen Webster. I'm an AOD treatment worker supporting both the Central East and Sydney community programs and the merit team for Odyssey House NSW.
I facilitate a couple of groups a week. I have the privilege of facilitating a couple of groups a week. One that's face to face and one online, so that's a nice counterbalance.
And you get to see how it works both ways. I love the face to face dynamic but I also really the cohort that we attract online as well.
People come, often they're quite nervous, they may not have reached out for support before, might be the first time they're ever either engaging with the service or not. all coming to SMART. They might have heard something about it, don't really know. We work really hard to make them feel comfortable, non, not judged, and just relaxed about being part of the process.
And we try and keep it as light as possible. And just, encourage them gently to share as much as they're comfortable with. It's very much [00:01:00] just about come in, check out how it works. See if it's for you. It might not be for everyone or it might not be your sort of thing. But just at least come and that's the main thing I'd say to people.
Come and see what it is. You won't know unless you check it out. For some people, they reach their own stage of change where they figure that either the substance or whether it's alcohol or other drugs is no longer working for them or serving a purpose.
It could be that they have court matters coming up and so they have a sort of an external motivator for attending SMART. And then for other people they use it as a way they're already on their path of recovery, whatever that looks like for them, and they use it as a way to keep themselves accountable.
And we often use the analogy that like you might go to the gym for physical fitness, we sometimes use SMART for mental and emotional fitness. What what do you think it the opportunity to be a part of a community that are on different but similar journeys, a sense of belonging.
We just had a young guy this [00:02:00] morning that has come back to Australia, doesn't have much of a community. So for him as well as addressing his relationship in this case, specifically with alcohol, he's using it as a way to Get some connection with other people.
What I do love about SMART is that for a lot of people, it's incredibly validating. So any recovery journey can feel very isolating and it's easy to feel like you might be the only one going through it. So suddenly to be in a room where you hear other people's stories, you go, wow, it's not just me. And, that's the bit I love is where you're in a group, the group kind of dynamic takes off and they'll be going, oh yeah, I have that too, or mate, this is, I tried that.
Yeah, and that's where the magic happens in a group is where you get people supporting each other. Smart's celebrating 20 years since the founding here in Sydney with St. Vincent's Hospital.
I think it's provided a fantastic opportunity for people to find a [00:03:00] program that comes from the community. harm minimization. So there's no judgment. It's basically recovery as it looks like for you. So it's, you're not you don't have to follow a particular doctrine or yeah it's, yeah, it's very flexible as a program.
And I think it, it works incredibly well in that regard. I feel incredibly proud to be able to deliver these meetings like I guess many programs. Perhaps the way that people deliver them is a bit different.
We each put our own unique touch, but I, for me, I love the model. It's the thing I'm most comfortable presenting because I, because of that group dynamic element. Yeah it's. It's such a nice model to work with and it's quite contained. So people, you don't go too far down rabbit holes. It's very managed and a safe environment for people to experiment with, oh, this might be what recovery could look like for me. [00:04:00] And then other people get absolutely hooked and they turn up to smart week after week. And for the facility, bad word, for the facilitators, like you're all a part of this community, like celebrating 20 years, the significant milestone, what would you say to the other facilitators who have been a part of smart, maybe for 20 years or for two minutes yeah, What would I say to other smart facilitators who've been on this path and probably are going forward.
I just yeah, I think we're part of a very special community and you know We're all in this sort of work because we care about people and we want to support people be their best version of themselves Yeah, and I think there's that sort of instant connection. If you tell you to someone else, I'm a smart facilitator.
That's Oh yeah, I got you. I know what you're doing. And this won't go on the video and there's no pressure, but if you were talking to the CEO of smart, what could they be doing better as an organization? I have talked to the CEO of smart in Australia, April. Yeah, that's a really, they're a nice [00:05:00] cohort.
I don't know if there's anything they could be doing better. Better necessarily look the websites, I put so many people to the website. It's Did you know there's a smart group for pilots I'm like is there an issue what's going on with my pilots Yeah, I just you know, maybe having more I think there's a call for more women's groups Yeah women only so that they feel like they're in a safe space.
Here we go.
That's it. Awesome. I would take someone who is, you can see their skin is glowing, they are, they're content, they're living their best life, they are, they've found a sense of purpose and they've found other strategies to cope with life, as opposed to the ones that haven't been serving them so well.