Community and peers induction

25-29 November 2019

Open Arms hosted an Induction Workshop for the Community and Peer Program which is currently being rolled out across Australia.

The program, piloted in Townsville, had positive results with Open Arms peers breaking down barriers to care, improving relationships with key community groups, and reducing the stigma for veterans around mental health and seeking help. The national roll-out of the program is a significant step forward in improving the lives of veterans and their families.

Twenty-nine peers, in addition to the six peers from the Townsville pilot, attended the workshop. They are being trained as Mental Health Peer Workers and will work from fourteen Open Arms locations nationally. 

Also in attendance for the training were representatives from key veteran-run organisations with a passion for supporting veterans’ mental health, including Swiss8, Red Six and Survive to Thrive Nation. 

The Community and Peer Program will provide Open Arms with a skilled workforce of veterans from across all three Australian Defence Force services and family representatives, to augment clinical capability across Australia by mid-2020.