Frequently asked questions – towards zero suicides – lived experience and alternatives to ED initiatives

Requirements for LHDs – Lived Experience of Suicide Engagement

Please consider how Roses in the Ocean can support you to add to the LE of suicide resource for the LHD . . .

• review how the LHD is currently engaging people with a lived experience of suicide and review the diversity of the group – do you have people with a lived experience of suicidal crisis, attempt, suicide bereavement or carer experience? Do you have a good cross section of your community?
• decide if you want us to assist you establish a Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG), or  provide training to existing LE people already involved with the LHD
• determine a person in the LHD who will take on the role of leading the LHD LEAG/network etc so they have a consistent point of contact
• host regular LEAG meetings to keep group informed of TZS projects and provide them opportunities to contribute according to their relative LE
• find opportunities for members of your LEAG to sit on various working groups, implementation teams, steering groups etc

Requirements for LHDs – ALT to ED Co-design of Safe Spaces

Roses in the Ocean will work closely with you throughout the co-design process, particularly in …

• familiarising yourselves on the Roses in the Ocean co-design process and the NSW Statement of Requirements (found on our website)
• identifying and recruiting Health Professional stakeholders for the co-design sessions
• supporting Roses in the Ocean to recruit people with a lived experience of suicidal crisis and attempt by sharing the recruitment materials through your regional networks
• deciding if you want to set up a page on the LHD website for co-design information and Feedback Loop webinar and survey links.  Roses in the Ocean can do this for you on our website if that is easier
• supporting the co-design Feedback Loops by distributing and promoting the process and links to webinars and surveys

Paid Participation for Lived Experience Representatives

The NSW Ministry of Health has advised that the LHDs are to provide paid participation for their Lived Experience representatives. You may like to review the NMHC rates if your LHD does not already have a rate of pay in place. Roses in the Ocean has not been funded to pay this on your behalf.

Lived Experience Representatives – General Contribution

It is recommended that LE reps are paid for :

• travel (often cost of travel not time of travel)
• parking,
• preparation time for meetings (this is based on how much reading etc is required – usually 1 hour or so)
• time spent at meetings

For general LE meetings – how much equates to completely depends on how frequent your meetings are.
Based on monthly meetings of 2 hour duration with an hour preparation time you could look at:
12 x 3 hours / per annum at your LHD hourly rate x number of LE reps + any incidentals of travel etc which depends on the location of your LE reps.

Lived Experience Participants Contributing – Co-design Process

The total amount of time is 15 hours allowing for preparation before process starts, session participation, webinar attendance, and survey contribution:
Preparation – 1.5 hours
Focus Group  – 1 hour
Le Session 1A   – 2 hours
LE Session 1B  – 2 hours
Combined Session (for 5 LE) – 2 hours
Feedback Loop webinars & surveys x 3 – 4.5 hours
Additional reflection time etc throughout process – 2 hours
LHDs may chose to pay 2 full days or an hourly rate.

How are other LHDs handling paid participation?

Each LHD is approaching this slightly differently. Some are asking Roses in the Ocean to invoice them for the paid participation for the co-design process and then for us to provide paid participation forms to the LE participants and pay them.  Apparently our 2 form process is much simpler than some internal processes.  We can only do this for the co-design project though, not ongoing LE meetings etc.
Other LHDs are paying them through already set up internal processes.

What is the Our Voice in Action Workshop

2 days either face to face or online depending on COVID-19 restrictions
The Our Voice in Action is a lived experience designed and delivered workshop that provides a foundational introduction into using a personal lived experience of suicide in a suicide prevention context.  Designed for face to face delivery over two days, the workshop has had to be re-designed to be able to be delivered online due to COVID-19. As this is the first time our lived experience training has been delivered online we will continue to learn and improve components of delivery.  Roses in the Ocean responded to the MoH request to take this workshop online with caution to ensure that we were able to create the supportive environment and experience for participants that we do when we bring a group together.  Online will never replace the benefits of having everyone in the same room but we are confident we can provide a good experience and useful foundation for participants.

External Evaluation Report by AISRAP

Our first Our Voice in Action – online was delivered over two weeks with numerous group zooms, 1-on-1 coaching sessions and self-paced online learning.  Participants found it difficult to find time to do the online learning though which impacted on the overall experience.
We have redesigned the experience to reflect the face to face delivery style over two days with great feedback from the first group of participants who went through this format in August.  They have come together a national Lived Experience Advisory Group for Everymind, and found the format very enjoyable and the scheduled breaks allowed for the necessary movement and relief from the screen.

What is the Launchpad Workshop?

The LaunchPad workshop, is ideally delivered face-to-face due to the purpose of the workshop being to support participants to determine how they will work as a united Lived Experience Advisory Group on suicide prevention activities in their LHD region.  It also provides the opportunity for existing lived experience representatives in the LHD to meet the new people, and come together around a shared vision, values and principles of working together.
The LHD plays a really important role in leading the LEAG throughout the LHD initiatives and LaunchPad gives the LHD time to connect with the group and provide good clarity about HOW the LHD will engage the group in different initiatives, when meetings will be held and who will be their contact.
If face to face is not possible, we will speak with the LHDs to explore other options.

Is there scope for tailoring the training?

Both of these workshops are the length they are so that people with a lived experience can come together and form as a group, learn how to share their lived experience safely and purposefully, and ultimately be prepared to step into lived experience advisory and advocacy roles. While Roses in the Ocean recognises that people with lived experience often come with a diverse and extensive skill set in suicide prevention already, this suite of training is key to forming a group of people in a particular region who can effectively and collectively bring their lived experience insights to the forefront of suicide prevention activities.

Another key thing to note is that this Lived Experience project is an excellent opportunity for people with a lived experience who have not previously engaged with suicide prevention activities to be involved and to share their wisdom and stories. Getting fresh voices will be invaluable to your LHD in terms of allowing for new and innovative ideas and experiences to be shared in which you can draw on to provide a scaffolding for the key Towards Zero Suicides Initiatives being rolled out in your region. In this case, the training is an excellent opportunity for people with extensive experience and those who have not yet dipped their toe into suicide prevention to all come together, to learn from one another, and to be skilled and equipped to be able to advise you on suicide prevention activities in your region.

Having said that, if you have experienced LE Representatives who do not wish to do the training, or have done Roses in the Ocean training before, the LHD may choose to simply introduce them to the new group once they have been trained.

There is scope for Roses in the Ocean to work with each LHD to formulate a plan for what training might work best in the region.  Speak with the Roses in the Ocean team if you’d like more information about what options might be suitable for your LHD.

Why are people asked to complete an Expression of Interest?

The expression of interest and screening process at Roses in the Ocean is in place after years of experience working with people with lived experience of suicide. The expression of interest that people fill out allows Roses in the Ocean to capture information about participants that we need in order to complete a matrix of their lived experience, demographics etc so that we can recruit a diverse group of lived experience people.  It also is where we gather consent for their details to be shared with the LHD and their agreement to our Privacy Policy etc.  The questions asked in this EOI form have been developed over time to ensure that people with lived experience are answering questions that are safe for them to be replying to while they may be alone at home filling out this form. It only takes 10 minutes.

The next step of the EOI process, which involves a phone call from a skilled Roses in the Ocean screener, involves a more in-depth conversation in which the screener can get to know the participant and what they’re hoping to get out of the opportunity, as well as to provide answers to any questions the participant may have.
The dual purpose of this call is to ensure that the person has all the information they need to make an informed decision as to their readiness to participate in this training and in suicide prevention activities. The final EOI/screening step involves a phone call from a co-facilitator a week before the training and this is so that the participant has a chance to ask any last-minute questions and for Rose in the Ocean to ensure that the person is still ready to safely participate. Ultimately, Roses in the Ocean takes responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of individuals who attend Roses in the Ocean training. Thus, the EOI and screening process is paramount to ensuring that Roses in the Ocean can be there to provide support and guidance to those attending.

What if our LHD has already run an EOI process?

Roses in the Ocean recognises that some LHDs have already put in place EOI processes for various suicide prevention activities in their region.  As the Roses in the Ocean EOI process is an integral part to implementing Roses in the Ocean training we ask that we work together to determine if there is any outstanding information we require.
If EOI’s have been collected we are very happy to review the questions that were asked and matrix the answers to assist in the selection of diverse and representative voices .  If all key questions have been asked, we can move to the screening process.  If we do not have enough information to matrix effectively though we will request that the LHD helps to identify the information we need.  We will then conduct the readiness screening for the appropriate number of people.

A few key things to consider regarding this are that even if an individual has previously been involved in suicide prevention activities on a regular basis, things can always change in that person’s life and Roses in the Ocean wants to ensure that everyone who attends training is ready at that point in their life to attend.  This is especially true for those people who are already engaged with the LHD or with other suicide prevention activities, as the screening call for these individuals will most likely be a short and simple check-in to introduce them to Roses in the Ocean, gauge how they are going at that point in time and discuss what they’d like to get out of the process.