In recent years, Australia’s lived experience workforce has experienced tremendous growth, offering new opportunities to embed recovery-oriented and person-centred care into mental health and suicide prevention services. However, with rapid growth comes challenges. Peer workers in multidisciplinary teams can often feel undervalued, isolated from the broader organisation and as though they have no clear pathway for development. Without support, the very workforce that brings hope, empathy and connection risks burnout and disconnection.
At ReachOut, we believe that for peer work to be effective, safe and sustainable, we need to create an environment where lived experience is not only acknowledged, but championed. To do so meaningfully, this requires structural change and genuine partnership between leadership, people and culture and the lived experience team.
When supporting a lived experience team, organisations must consider the distinct set of values and principles that peer workers are guided by. They must adopt new ways of working, engage in deep listening and ongoing learning, which can only be achieved when you have buy-in from the top and commitment across the organisation.
Join Emily Smith (Peer Work Manager) and Olivia Goodchild (People and Culture Manager) as they discuss how they partner to effectively support the wellbeing, growth and development of ReachOut’s PeerChat team. ReachOut’s PeerChat team has grown by 375% (from 4 to 19) since its launch in 2022. Instrumental to this growth has been the co-design of new leadership roles, clear pathways for development, and wrap-around support that acknowledges the emotional labour of sharing your own story to support others.
Drawing on their expertise, Emily and Olivia will highlight how embedding lived experience and prioritising collaboration can create workplaces where peer workers feel valued, supported and empowered to do their best work. Through practical examples, they will show how inclusive dialogue, open conversations and co-designed solutions are strengthening ReachOut’s lived experience workforce.
Key learnings: