About the workshop:

Lived experience continues to gain momentum as organisations and communities are becoming more included to listen, learn from and walk alongside different communities. Getting involved can be empowering, whether in the areas of advocacy, participating in co-design, sitting on boards or grassroots activism in the community. This one-day workshop will provide you with an introduction to ways to lead with lived experience and contribute towards advocacy in varying capacities.

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is for anyone who identifies as having lived experience of mental health issues and/or distress, social issues and injustice and wants to influence change in mental health, social services, or disability sectors. The content is introductory, and created for people new to using or wanting to use their lived experience in leadership or advocacy spaces.

Themes covered:

The following themes will be explored:

Defining, exploring and connecting with the meaning of ‘Lived Experience’
Sharing lived experience in safer ways and for influencing change
Looking at different types, levels and lens’ of advocacy and representation
Intro to co-design and co-production
Importance of community, allies, resources and sharing power

Structure of the day:

This is an interactive facilitated workshop that will include presentation of information by the facilitator(s), large and small group discussions and reflective exercises. The knowledge, skills and diverse experiences of participants will be drawn on to create an environment of dialogue, shared learning and community.

Morning and afternoon tea will be provided and a number of venues and a supermarket are close by for people to access provisions for lunch.

Workshop facilitator:

The lead facilitator for this workshop will be Emrys Temple-Heald (He/Him/They), Peer Project Worker.

You can learn more about the LELAN team at www.lelan.org.au/our-people.

How this session fits within the broader LEDGE Project:

What is LEDGE? It stands for Lived Experience Development, Governance and Education Project. It is a large project that is focused on increasing skills, knowledge, confidence and the overall capacity of the Lived Experience Community in South Australia.

This one-day workshop is a shortened and adapted version of the entire LEDGE training suite so that it can be delivered in a shorter workshop format. Participants can still access and enrol in the online modules here if they want to consolidate their knowledge, refresh or explore further areas a bit deeper.

More information about the Lived Experience Development, Governance & Education (LEDGE) Project that this workshop is a component of can be accessed here.

*If you have not registered for the 'Sharing Stories Safely' online module, or have not completed this previously with LELAN, we encourage you to do so.

The 'Sharing Stories Safely' content will encourage reflection on how we manage our own needs and boundaries but will also explore strategies for caring for others when sharing our stories. This will provide a foundation to work from leading into the workshop days. For more information or to register for this online please click here.