SA Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Network

10/03/2026

[OUR NEW WORKSHOP SCHEDULE IS HERE]: Head over to Humanitix to check out what training we are offering in 2026!

The workshops mentioned in the tile below are all FREE, in-person and for people with lived experience interested in learning more and developing skills to start or enhance their advocacy and representative or peer roles.

Spots are already filling so be sure to check the schedule below and click over to events.humanitix.com/host/lelan to register to attend. If things change and you can no longer make it after registering, please let us know so we can give the place to people on the waitlist.

We look forward to connecting with you all throughout the year!

If you have any further questions, please contact the LELAN team via [email protected] or 0431 953 526. This includes if you want to talk to us about bespoke training packages and tailoring something for your lived experience group, team or organisation.

06/03/2026

[EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST NOW OPEN] Are you interested in becoming an Alt2Su Peer Group Facilitator?

We are currently recruiting more people with a lived experience of suicidality to facilitate in person Alternatives to Su***de Groups with LELAN. Interested applicants must be available to attend the 3-day facilitator training from Monday March 30 to Wednesday April 1 in the Adelaide CBD.

Alt2Su groups offer non-clinical spaces where people can be honest about their experiences without fear of forced treatment, other forms of coercion, or risk assessment that shuts conversation down. They run for 90 minutes, and are facilitated by people with a lived experience of suicidality who have been trained in the approach that was developed by Wildflower Alliance in the US.

Once trained, facilitators are supported by LELAN through ongoing training, debriefing, and group reflective practice, and receive an honorarium per group for their lived expertise.

For more information or to express your interest visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/7FNYVJ6 . Expressions of Interest close Monday March 16th at 5pm, and successful applicants will be contacted shortly after.

If you have any questions, please contact LELAN via email [email protected] or phone 0431 953 526

01/03/2026

[PEER SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS OR FEELINGS]: March Alt2Su Calendar has now dropped!

Please note that Friday night online groups have moved to 7:30pm by popular vote from attendees.

Find a group near you by visiting www.lelan.org.au/alt2su-groups/

Alternatives to Su***de (Alt2Su) peer-led community-based groups centre mutual connection and meaning making around su***de distress, thoughts and experiences. They offer non-clinical spaces where people can be honest about their experiences without fear of forced treatment, other forms of coercion, or risk assessment that shuts conversation down.

Email [email protected] for more information.

27/02/2026

[WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE CHORUS]: 'In big reforms, things are rarely perfect at the beginning. Instead of cuts, what we need now is time.

This will allow for the foundations of reform to solidify – for the mental health power structures to adjust, for understanding of lived experience to increase and for change to be felt more strongly in communities.

Real change, cultural and transformational change, takes investment, creativity, courage, deep discomfort and defiant persistence. All things people with lived experience know a hell of a lot about' [Katie Larsen via ].

We appreciate the link to LELAN's One Radical Idea publication as evidence of what has been 'consistently demanded by people who use services in Australia'. You can read that work over at www.lelan.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Report_One-Radical-or-Innovative-Idea_Feb2025_Printing.pdf .

Introduction by Croakey: As Croakey and other media outlets have reported extensively, the Victorian Labor Government's plans to abolish VicHealth

27/02/2026

[EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST NOW OPEN] Are you interested in becoming an Alt2Su Peer Group Facilitator?

We are currently recruiting more people with a lived experience of suicidality to facilitate in person Alternatives to Su***de Groups with LELAN. Interested applicants must be available to attend the 3-day facilitator training from Monday March 30 to Wednesday April 1 in the Adelaide CBD.

Alt2Su groups offer non-clinical spaces where people can be honest about their experiences without fear of forced treatment, other forms of coercion, or risk assessment that shuts conversation down. They run for 90 minutes, and are facilitated by people with a lived experience of suicidality who have been trained in the approach that was developed by Wildflower Alliance in the US.

Once trained, facilitators are supported by LELAN through ongoing training, debriefing, and group reflective practice, and receive an honorarium per group for their lived expertise.

For more information or to express your interest visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/7FNYVJ6 . Expressions of Interest close Monday March 16th at 5pm, and successful applicants will be contacted shortly after.

If you have any questions, please contact LELAN via email [email protected] or phone 0431 953 526

26/02/2026

[FREE IN-PERSON WORKSHOP]: Using Y(our) Lived Experience for Change

Join LELAN on Tuesday March 3rd 9.30am-1.30pm at The Wyatt Benevolent Institution Inc for this free half day workshop.

There are only a few tickets left and we have limited spaces for people to register or be added to the waitlist.

This intermediate workshop is for anyone that wants to develop more leadership skills and is actively using their lived expertise for change, whether it's through connecting with your communities, sitting on governance groups or in designated roles. Topics will include exploring the ALEL lived experience leadership model, as well as how to connect our skills with purpose and passion.

To read more or register to attend go to https://events.humanitix.com/workshop-half-day-using-y-our-lived-experience-for-change

Any further questions please email the LELAN team via [email protected] .

Get Tickets on Humanitix - [WORKSHOP HALF-DAY]: Using Y(our) Lived Experience for Change hosted by LELAN . The Wyatt Benevolent Institution Inc. , 161 Frome St, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia. Tuesday 3rd March 2026. Find event information.

18/02/2026

[LEARN MORE]: Join LELAN next week at one of two free online information sessions to learn more about peer alternatives to responding to su***de distress and suicidality.

EVENING INFORMATION SESSION (online): Tuesday February 24th, 5:30pm - 6:30pm.

DAYTIME INFORMATION SESSION (online): Thursday February 26th 10am -11am.

Register at tinyurl.com/muj9dd2e.

All welcome - including community members with a lived experience of suicidality who want to learn to support others, as well as those who work in the sector, or represent an organisation wanting to learn more about peer alternatives to su***de distress and suicidality.

More information about the project can be found on the LELAN website at www.lelan.org.au/alt2su.

Email [email protected] or call 0431 953 526 with any further questions you may have.

12/02/2026

[PUBLICATION ALERT]: Another journal article from LELAN and University of South Australia's Activating Lived Experience Leadership project has been published open access.

It explores the core values, qualities and skills of lived experience leaders: (1) stands up and speaks out, (2) lived experience lens and positioning, (3) champions justice, (4) creates and nurtures safe and connectedspaces, (5) leads and inspires change , and (6) strategic in mobilising.

These were conceptualised for the Model of Lived Experience Leadership that you can access via www.lelan.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Model-of-Lived-Experience-Leadership_ALEL-Project.pdf .

Reach out to the LELAN team with any questions you have, including working together to strengthen lived experience leadership in your practice or embedding it more meaningfully and structurally in your organisation. Our best contacts are [email protected] or 0431 953 526.

PDF | On Jan 23, 2026, Mark Loughhead and others published Values, qualities and skills for mental health lived experience leadership in systems change in Australia | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

10/02/2026

[EXPRESSION OF INTEREST]: Help LELAN amplify LGBTQIASB+ healthcare experiences in SA through film.

On Wednesday February 25th 9am-4pm LELAN will be filming LGBTQIASB+ South Australians sharing their lived experiences of access to, or lack of, quality physical or mental health care. These insights and contributions will then be used to create a short-film that can educate, advocate and influence health professionals and the system to provide even better care.

If this opportunity speaks to you, we invite you complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) via https://surveymonkey.com/r/26WRRPZ . EOI's close Monday February 16th at 5pm and people will be notified soon after.

Any further questions please contact the LELAN team via [email protected] or 0431 953 526.

09/02/2026

[WE HAVE A NEW LEARNING PLATFORM]: We are so excited to spotlight the launch of a new home for our online learning modules: LearnWorlds.

Through LearnWorlds you can continue to access our modules for free. Our previous platform LearnDash is officially closed.

This new platform provides a better online learning experience with increased accessibility options. The module design has received a facelift and updates to some information and resources - with plans for continuous improvement and new learning modules in mid to late 2026.

To sign up or read more about the online courses available go to: https://lelan.learnworlds.com .

And if you have suggestions for new content please email the team via [email protected] .

03/02/2026

[FREE IN-PERSON WORKSHOP]: Starting out - Lived Experience Advocacy, Leadership and Policy.

Join us for the first workshop of the year on Tuesday February 10th 10.30am-4.30pm at Adelaide City Library. There are only a few tickets left and we have limited spaces for people to register or be added to the waitlist.

If you are new to lived experience this workshop is a great place to start as the content is introductory and for beginners. Topics will include different lenses and types of representation, a brief intro to co-production and sharing power, an overview of mental health policy and how to utilise policy and theory in advocacy.

To read more or register to attend go to https://events.humanitix.com/workshop-full-day-starting-out-advocacy-leadership-and-policy .

Any further questions please email the LELAN team via [email protected] .

Get Tickets on Humanitix - [WORKSHOP FULL-DAY]: Starting Out: Advocacy, Leadership, & Policy hosted by LELAN . Adelaide City Library - Rundle Place , level 3/77-91 Rundle Mall, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia. Tuesday 10th February 2026. Find event information.

01/02/2026

[PEER SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS OR FEELINGS]: February Alt2Su Calendar has now dropped!

Find a group near you by visiting www.lelan.org.au/alt2su-groups/

Alternatives to Su***de (Alt2Su) peer-led community-based groups centre mutual connection and meaning making around su***de distress, thoughts and experiences. They offer non-clinical spaces where people can be honest about their experiences without fear of forced treatment, other forms of coercion, or risk assessment that shuts conversation down.

Email [email protected] for more information.