We provide peer support and a comfortable, non-clinical environment for people experiencing mental health distress.
Key points
- Safe Haven is a peer support program where people can find connection and understanding with peers who have had shared experiences
- The program provides a respectful, comforting and non-clinical environment available 2pm to 8pm, Tuesday to Sunday, excluding public holidays.
- Attending the program requires a referral, which can be made by the RMH Mental Health Services, the RMH Emergency Department, or approved external organisations.
What we do
Safe Haven is a North Melbourne-based, consumer peer-led program that provides a comfortable, inclusive and supportive environment for people experiencing mental health distress.
The program operates as a drop-in service and accepts guests with an active referral during opening hours. Guests are welcomed into a warm, non-clinical space by peer support workers and a mental health clinician, where they can connect with staff and each other. Guests can stay as long as they like during opening hours.
For people seeking support, Safe Haven offers an alternative to clinical settings, such as the Emergency Department connected environment. It is designed for people who may otherwise 'fall through the cracks'.
Who can use our service
The RMH Mental Health Services, the RMH Emergency Department, and other identified organisations can refer to Safe Haven.
When someone is referred, they are provided with a mutuality agreement outlining the shared expectations in Safe Haven. Anyone who has previously been referred and has signed the mutuality agreement can attend at any time during opening hours.
When is the program available?
The program is currently available to guests from 2pm to 8pm, Tuesday to Sunday, excluding public holidays.
What is peer support?
‘Peer support is a system of giving and receiving help founded on key principles of respect, shared responsibility, and mutual agreement of what is helpful. It is about understanding another’s situation empathically through the shared experience of emotional and psychological pain.
'When people find affiliation with others they feel are “like them”, they feel a connection. This connection or affiliation is a deep holistic understanding based on mutual experience where people are able to “be” with each other without the constraints of traditional (expert-patient) relationships.’
(Mead, Hilton & Curtis, 2001, p. 6)
Our values
- Lived and living experience and expertise
- Co-reflection and collaboration
- Healing journeys, personal growth
- Acting with transparency
- Connection and belonging
- Confidentiality and self-determination
- Trust through shared vulnerability
- Culturally responsive care
- Radical honesty
- Respect for ourselves and each other