CA SE STUDY Lived Experience Centre Harnessing unique lived experience You often hear people say ‘the past is past, move on’, but you can’t move on until you acknowledge what happened and what continues to impact on our wellbeing.” Leilani Darwin, Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy at the Black Dog Institute “We are strong. We are resilient. But we are tired.” That was the powerful message from a participant in a yarning circle on mental health and suicide prevention held by the Black Dog Institute’s then newly formed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience Centre in 2020. PHOTO: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience members on board the Derwent Hunter Peral Lugger The final painting of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience Gathering held in Cairns, June 2021. Artist: Margie Woodfield For Leilani Darwin, the participant’s words highlight the importance of social and emotional wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, a multi-dimensional concept of physical and mental health that, unlike Western medical models, encompasses connection to Country, culture, spirituality, ancestry, family and communities. The review found that historical and ongoing colonisation, including forced removal of children, lack of selfdetermination, social exclusion and racism at individual and structural levels contribute to the unique and disproportionate experiences of suicide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples8. Leilani, a Quandamooka woman, is director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy at the Black Dog Institute and was founding head of the Lived Experience Centre. This research led to the creation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience Centre, the first of its kind in Australia and internationally. Like many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, she has long lived experience of trying to navigate the mainstream mental health and suicide prevention sector, and of often being treated poorly in systems and services. Now headed by Vicki McKenna, a Yawuru and Bunaba woman based in Broome, the Lived Experience Centre has, in just a few short years, forged a reputation as a culturally strong, community-driven organisation, with cultural integrity and self-determination at its core. In 2018, Leilani worked on a literature review for Western Australia’s renowned Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention, led by Professor Pat Dudgeon. 22 It investigated how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s lived experience of suicide differed from that of other Australians, and sought to determine what supports were needed to empower the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lived experience experts in the suicide prevention field. Transforming Power: Voices for Generational Change It brings together a national network of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with lived experience to design and deliver culturally safe and trauma-informed mental health and suicide prevention initiatives. It is strong on co-design, co-production and the paid participation of people with lived experience.