The Pilbara region, with its diverse and rich Aboriginal communities, has long faced unique challenges in addressing mental health and suicide prevention. The development of the Culture Care Connect Aftercare Model of Care and the Pilbara Network Suicide Prevention Plan (PNSPP) required a culturally grounded, community-driven approach to ensure both relevance and effectiveness. A place-based, community-driven solution was integral to the design of these initiatives, ensuring that the strategies developed were not only locally appropriate but also sustainable in creating suicide-safer communities across the region.

The co-design process involved 12 open community forums across 4 locations in the Pilbara, alongside surveys, to ensure as many voices as possible were heard. These forums allowed local Aboriginal communities, health professionals, and service providers to collaborate in shaping solutions that were culturally safe, locally driven, and tailored to the region’s specific needs. The process integrated cultural knowledge and values with evidenced-based best practices in suicide prevention, ensuring the development of solutions that were both effective and relevant to the communities they were designed to serve.

Throughout the process, key themes of cultural respect, community empowerment, and sustainability were emphasised. The Culture Care Connect aftercare model prioritises ongoing, culturally appropriate support for individuals at their most vulnerable time, while the PNSPP focuses on a region-wide, multi-sectoral approach to prevention. The place-based, community-driven approach ensures that these solutions are practical and grounded in local contexts, fostering stronger, suicide-safer communities across the Pilbara.

These initiatives are now poised to improve outcomes, reduce suicide rates, and create lasting impact through culturally safe and sustainable support networks. The presentation will highlight the success and importance of community-led solutions, underpinned by evidence-based best practices, to reduce the impact of suicide and foster social emotional wellbeing and resilience in our communities.

Three Key Learnings:
1. Cultural Safety and Co-Design: Participants will learn how to integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices through co-design forums, ensuring services are culturally safe and relevant to local traditions.

2. Collaboration for Service Improvement: Participants will gain an understanding of how collaboration within the Pilbara Suicide Peer Network reduces service duplication, fills care gaps, and improves access to culturally appropriate support.

3. Holistic Aftercare Approaches: Participants will learn how to create holistic, person-centered aftercare plans that combine Western healthcare with cultural healing practices to support sustainable community wellbeing.