Peer support for Head to Health hubs

Please note: Head to Health was formerly known as HeadtoHelp.

Peer workers are an important part of the multidisciplinary teams at our Head to Health mental health hubs. They help provide and advocate for person-centred mental health care.

North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) is collaborating with the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC) to establish a peer workforce in the three HeadtoHelp hubs in our region.

Peer support for Head to Health hubs will:

• allow Head to Health clients to access to a peer worker who has lived experience of mental health challenges
• assist in linking clients to a wider group of peers through VMIAC’s CHECK-IN program
• provide training and support for Head to Health hub staff, to help them further work in a way that holds the client’s perspective at the centre of decision making.

The intended outcomes of this program are:

• Head to Health clients receive strengths-based, recovery-oriented support from a peer worker, which complements the clinical support already available at Head to Health Hubs
• Head to Health hubs build capacity to integrate a peer workforce into service delivery
• Head to Health clinicians understand the value and role of a peer workforce.