Run in partnership to support better outcomes

Darwin Head to Health is a Neami National service, delivered in partnership with the Traditional Owners, Larrakia Nation. Neami and Larrakia Nation are also committed to working with the many community organisations in Darwin.

Working together allows us to offer something new to benefit visitors to the service and the wider community. By working together, we can offer services with a 'no wrong door' approach to access and support.

Sharing knowledge and expertise with community and clinical services helps everyone to understand how to best support good mental health and wellbeing.

Neami National is a community-based organisation providing mental health, homelessness and suicide prevention services that support over 9,000 Australians each year. Using a recovery approach, Neami supports people to improve their wellbeing, live independently and pursue a meaningful life.
Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation(LNAC) is a large, progressive and professional Aboriginal organisation with a dual purpose: It is the representative organisation for the Larrakia people, the traditional owners of Darwin and is also a major service provider for Aboriginal people in the region.
Northern Territory PHN is a not-for-profit organisation fully funded by the Australian Government to work closely with the primary health sector to develop better coordination, support the health workforce and introduce new health programs and services.

Designed after much yarning

Many people got together and talked before the service opened to ensure that Darwin Head to Health met the needs of the people of Darwin.

These co-design sessions included people with a lived experience of recovery, carers and family, mental health professionals, support services and first-responders.

In the sessions we asked people

  • what is needed to provide a positive experience?
  • how to best integrate with existing services?
  • what makes the right service at the right time?

Neami undertook a range of approaches (scoping and mapping, stakeholder engagement and co-design) to create connections with the local community, understand the existing service gaps and design a new service that would minimise duplication of existing support.

This report presents the insights and learnings from these processes and presents what has been considered in the development of Darwin Head to Health and our Philosophy of Care.

Yarning about the Darwin Head to Health – Final Co-design Report

Darwin Head to Health Philosophy of Care

A safe and inclusive model of support

Drawing on Neami’s 30 years' experience in providing complex recovery-based support and Larrakia Nation's deep knowledge of Darwin, the Darwin Head to Health Service provides a respectful and positive experience for each person.

Partnering with Larrakia Nation, Darwin Head to Health honours the traditional owners of Darwin and seeks to incorporate concepts of Social and Emotional Wellbeing and tradition healing practices into our service delivery.

Working together, the multi-disciplinary team supports each visitor with their immediate mental and physical needs. Throughout the stay, guided by a Wellbeing Coach, the team will  ensure safety and immediate support. When required further conversations are had and information collected to identify supports required.

Support planning responds to the medical, personal and social factors that led to the mental health crisis and current presentation and feature:

  • Plans for managing life stressors including referrals to appropriate community support
  • Communication with family and carers and any existing care teams or support
  • Provision of self-help materials and referral to appropriate support groups
  • Referrals to appropriate services for more support or follow-up care
  • Gaining knowledge about individual mental health experiences and treatment options including the use of medication.

The value of lived experience

A "Peer-First, Peer-Last" culture elevates the value of lived experience and recovery coaching to support each person to adjust, settle and develop trust.

Wellbeing Coaches draw on their lived experience to support visitors in their recovery. At Darwin Head to Health Wellbeing Coaches accompany each person through their time at the service.

Neami invests in the professional development and training of a lived experience workforce right across the country. Peer Work provides both an avenue for people to re-enter the workforce in a supportive work environment and is an important profession in supporting others recovering from mental illness into employment.

Supporting the Northern Territory’s mental health and wellbeing

Darwin head to Health builds on a long history of providing continuity of support across the clinical and community-based spectrum.

We know that building flexible services that accommodate changes in each person's needs enables us to provide or connect with the right support at the right time.

We see this flexibility in our services possible by taking a person-centred approach from the first contact, be that a walk-in crisis service, to exiting something like long-term therapeutic support, is the best way to reach recovery.  

Our focus on supporting local communities includes responding to people presenting in crisis. Across all our services, we have developed strong partnerships with community and clinical services.