LGBTIQA+ Suicide Prevention Capacity Building Project

Adelaide PHN is pleased to announce two new activities under the LGBTIQA+ Suicide Prevention Capacity Building Project. These initiatives aim to build community resilience through peer-led and lived experience activities and supporting the development of the peer and lived experience workforce.

The Adelaide PHN region is diverse in its geography and people, including a large Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Asexual (LGBTIQA+) community. Although many LGBTIQA+ Australians live healthy and happy lives, a disproportionate number experience poorer mental health outcomes and higher suicidal behaviours than their peers. As a result, they were chosen as a priority population for the Targeted Regional Initiatives to Suicide Prevention Program (TRISP). 

The activities to be undertaken as part of the Capacity Building Project include:

1. Co-design, development and pilot of an LGBTIQA+ Peer Work Skill Set. This program will focus on the role of Peer Work in suicide prevention and will be led by Centacare Catholic Community Services through its Registered Training Organisation, Centacare Institute. This Skill Set Program will be available to people volunteering in, working in, or interested in working in Peer Work roles within the LGBTIQA+ primary mental health care sector.
2. Co-design, establishment and implementation of an LGBTIQA+ Lived Experience Community of Practice (CoP): This initiative will be developed and facilitated by the Mental Health Coalition of South Australia. The CoP will support people employed in or volunteering in peer and lived experience roles in the LGBTIQA+ community and will be situated within the existing Lived Experience Workforce Program, which supports the development and growth of the Lived Experience and Peer Workforce in South Australia's non-government mental health sector. 

These activities align with Adelaide PHNs Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Priority Statements, which focus on:

• capacity building through improved community workforce capability to support people experiencing mental health conditions and suicide distress, and
• ensuring LGBTIQA+ communities can access safe, inclusive, and appropriate mental health and suicide prevention services. 

Both activities are part of TRISP, which supports investments in gaps in the local suicide prevention systems and capacity builds for a systems-based approach to suicide prevention. TRISP is a short-term measure funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, ending on 30 June 2026.

If you are interested in learning more about or getting involved in these activities, please email enquiry@adelaidephn.com.au