This year’s Federal Budget placed a significant amount of funding towards the Head to Health suite of services across Australia including Medicare Mental Health Centres (formerly known as Head to Health centres). With a goal of uplifting these services there was an investment of $29.9m over the next four years. The budget also saw an investment of $7.1m in the development of a peer workforce for the sector. In Mount Gambier we are seeing these two areas work together simultaneously.
Peer Workers at the Mount Gambier Medicare Mental Health Centre (formerly known as the Mount Gambier Head to Health Centre), an initiative of the Australian Government, with funding provided through Country SA PHN to FocusOne Health) play a pivotal role in creating a welcoming and supportive environment for consumers. Drawing from their own experiences of mental distress and challenges, these peer workers offer a perspective and understanding that is unique and invaluable.
They greet visitors warmly, providing a sense of familiarity and empathy that can help alleviate apprehension and foster trust right from the start. Within a small community, this is pivotal.
However, this workforce is not just making an impact inside the Mount Gambier Medicare Mental Health Centre, they are also engaged with the wider community. This not only encourages people into the service, but they are also destigmatising mental ill-health. A key element for these Peer Workers in fostering connection within the community, as well as reciprocal and continuous learning is the reflecting on one’s practice.
The Mental Health Coalition of South Australia’s (MHCSA) Lived Experience Workforce Program (LEWP) facilitates external Peer Supervision to the Peer Workers at Mount Gambier Medicare Mental Health Centre, which is a discipline specific supervision that supports reflecting on one’s own practice and aligning to the guiding values and principles that are the framework of Peer Work. This structured support not only enhances the quality of care provided but also ensures that Peer Workers feel supported and empowered in their roles.
Hosted by LEWP, the Community of Practice for the Lived Experience Workforce is hosted online, making it accessible and adoptable across the country. The Peer Workers at Mount Gambier Medicare Mental Health Centre attend these sessions and have found them to be beneficial to their practice, saying “I think there is value learning from each other, it gives a sense of belonging to a group that helps people in a positive way”.
This professional development in turn, supports the quality of service being delivered to the members of the community.
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