Deakin Community Mental Health Co-Op Project

The Deakin Community Mental Health Co-Op is a local initiative being developed by lived-experience advocates and peer supporters who believe that mental health care should be compassionate, community-based, and guided by the people who use it. It will provide services for people living in the federal electorate of Deakin which includes suburbs like Ringwood, Croydon, Nunawading and more.

Why a Co-Op?

Deakin Co-op imageA cooperative is a member-owned organisation — not a business, not a government service, but a community working together.
In our case, the members will be people with lived experience of mental health challenges, their families, and local allies who want to make a difference.

We believe this model brings real change because:

  • Decisions stay local. Members decide what services are needed and how they should run.

  • Peer support works. When people share similar experiences, understanding and hope grow naturally.

  • Resilience through community. Smaller, locally managed co-ops are flexible, sustainable, and responsive.

What Will It Offer?

The co-op will begin with a simple weekly drop-in space — a few hours each week in a free or low-cost community venue.
There, people can meet informally, talk, and explore what kind of supports are most needed.

As the co-op grows, we aim to develop:

  • Peer mentoring and mutual support programs

  • Social and creative activities that build wellbeing

  • Help navigating systems like the NDIS and local services

  • Support for carers and families

  • Opportunities for members to gain skills and, eventually, paid peer work

Support from Lamp Inc

Our Community Co-op Project is inspired and supported by Lamp Inc in Western Australia — a long-standing community organisation that has successfully delivered a high standard of non-clinical mental health support for nearly three decades.
Like Lamp, we want to see communities empowered to look after each other — with dignity, empathy, and practical support.

Support from Voices of Deakin

From our community, for our community

Voices of Deakin (VoD) are a group of residents seeking to create a better future for their community, and for the generations who follow, through greater connection to and independent representation in Parliament.

​They are volunteers from across the electorate of Deakin who believe in fairness, integrity and equality, and that independent representation in Parliament can achieve better outcomes for us all.

Getting Started in Deakin

Right now, we’re forming the foundation group — at least five people with lived experience who want to be involved in shaping and registering the cooperative.
Once we secure a venue, we’ll begin weekly gatherings to listen, plan, and take the next steps together.

If you’d like to take part, volunteer, or simply learn more, please get in touch via the Contact Us page on this website:

Together, we can build something unique — a community-owned, peer-led alternative that brings warmth, belonging, and hope to mental health care in Deakin.

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