Stevie Clayton was the CEO of ACON from 1997 to 2009. These are her reflections, as told to John Burfitt.
Earliest memories of ACON
I had beenco-convener of the Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby and often worked closely with ACON on community campaigns. When I first joined ACON in 1997, we were in that moment when people weren’t dying at the same rate from AIDS-related conditions due to the new medications, and instead were living longer with HIV. That was a tumultuous time, because we had people telling us we should be closing our doors as the job was done. At that same time, with more people living longer with HIV, ACON’s client load was actually bigger, and responding to the pandemic became more complex.
Taking on the role as CEO
I had worked at the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations and then took timeout working behind the bar at the Tilbury Hotel when a job came up at ACON running the Policy & Women’s Unit. I later stepped up to Deputy CEO, and then CEO from 2001. With Robert Griew as CEO we started broadening HIV programs and talking about LGBTQ+ health programs and services in the future.
My tenure as CEO
It fell to me along with ACON’s amazing President, Adrian Lovney, to steer the process of working out what the new programs would look like, who our partners would be and how we would fund them. We knew as soon as we started producing programs in a much broader community and health context, that we would get more people engaging with the organization, and we would get some criticism. Some people didn’t want us to change, they understandably felt they were losing something. So it was a big process of trying to reassure the people who were critical of ACON while also trying to find avenues to build the new programs we knew were important.
The challenge of evolving into a broader organisation
ACON had a brave board who were willing to take those early steps, and a fantastic management team, staff and volunteers who were building the programs. When we made the changes, we did a big consultation process, all around the state explaining our plans and getting input. We just had to stay focused on the outcomes and find ways to take those people with us. For the most part, that happened.
How ACON managed the evolution process
Everything ACON did was based in research, then thinking about how we could respond with campaigns and resources. We already had HIV programs that had broadened into sexual health, Indigenous communities, older people, younger people and the Asian project, so we built on those and made them broader. Then for each new program we set up a working group with social researchers, epidemiologists, staff, board, community reps and other key players all around the table to design those programs. We worked with other organisations, like Beyond Blue, the Cancer Council, and Suicide Prevention Australia, getting their input on our programs and helping them to improve what they were providing to the LGBTQ+ communities.
Women’s health taking a more significant place at ACON
When I arrived at ACON, there was already a women’s project which was focused almost predominantly on HIV, so we looked at women’s health in a broader context, how we were meeting those needs and how could we find funding that wasn’t taking away HIV funding. We did a lot of fundraising, to build programs for women and a lot of community development along the way.
ACON’s success over 40 years
Because ACON is so firmly based in community – the staff, volunteers and those they serve – it’s always focused on being of service to its community. It’s also about basing the work on research, and working collaboratively with other players to produce the best possible programs and resources.
Why ACON is still relevant today
In the LGBTQ+ community, there’s still a need for a space where people know they’re talking to people who understand their issues. The further you get out of Sydney, the less likely you are to get the right services you need because people don’t ask the right questions or don’t understand the needs, and some people are scared they’ll be discriminated against. ACON provides that safe and knowledgeable space for them. It also provides a voice, being active in policy and advocacy since its inception and listened to by successive government in NSW and Federally.
ACON today and as it heads into tomorrow
I hope that the board and staff in the future are willing to take as big and brave steps as the people who came before by thinking about new, exciting, creative things they can be doing, and then doing them.
The importance of marking ACON’s 40th anniversary
It’s about acknowledging all the people who went before who did so much, but who are not with us anymore. They made really significant contributions. To have an organisation that’s so responsive to meets the needs of so many people, that has been open to criticism and has continued to grow as ACON has, is something we should celebrate.
