As a direct result of the systemic advocacy of people with a lived experience of suicide, there has been promising government investment in non-clinical, alternative supports for people impacted by suicide in Australia. Roses in the Ocean has played a central role in the conceptual and practical development of these non-clinical services, in the form of innovative safe spaces, at a state and national level. Drawing from the outcomes of 30+ co-design processes, Roses in the Ocean combined the key components of a model people with lived experience of suicide were most frequently expressing a desire and need to see in their communities and developed the service model for Community-led Safe Spaces (from here on described as CLSS’s) to be piloted and evaluated.
Through this service model Roses in the Ocean places the person and the community at the centre, believing in the strengths, passion and determination of people in community to own and lead their own solutions. Our role is one of establishment support, ongoing resource and learning development, implementation and operational support, and sustainability planning.
This presentation highlights key learnings from the original pilot of four CLSS’s and the subsequent Commonwealth supported expansion trial of an additional ten CLSS’s across Australia. Through examining the results of the pilot evaluation conducted by Beacon Strategies, and ongoing data collection and qualitative interviews we will share what has worked well, what hasn’t, the challenges being faced, the opportunities we have identified to improve the model further, and how key recommendations are being implemented in the ongoing trial and service model evolution.
We will specifically focus on key issues through a lens of service model fidelity, governance and sustainability, exploring aspects such as establishment and support of local community working groups, workforce, infrastructure, governance and future scaling opportunities and partnerships. Further evaluation is being undertaken by Australian National University through to 2025.