Online Event

Join us for a powerful online abolitionist webinar exploring why we must dream, build, and fight for a world beyond psychiatry. Rooted in Mad pride and resistance, this session will unravel the violence of the medical model and how it pathologises our natural responses to a brutal world.

Psychiatry, like the prison system, polices difference and marginalisation, cages distress, and criminalises survival. But our grief, rage, and breakdowns are not disorders—they are truths. They are reasonable responses to unbearable conditions and can be paths to healing and liberation.

We need to stop diagnosing what is political, stop sedating what is sacred, and stop demanding placid compliance and wellness as conditions for belonging.

Our panel:

Indigo Daya:

Indigo is a mad, queer, multiply disabled psychiatric survivor who brings lived experience of violence, incarceration, and psychiatric labelling to their abolitionist work. After 18 years in the mental health system—including as a consumer worker—they walked away in 2022, no longer believing in reform that continually harms survivors. Their work now centres on building alternative solutions to psychiatric oppression—ones rooted in collective care, creativity, and justice. Indigo is passionate about epistemic justice, survivor-led initiatives, and using the arts to amplify mad wisdom and resist carceral systems. They work in community with fellow survivors through peer support, co-reflection, and mutual learning, always with a vision toward collective liberation.

Dr KJ Hepworth:

KJ is a queer, disabled activist/scholar, passionate zine maker, artist and teacher whose work centres on making space for access, connection, and mutual care. As the current co-recipient of the Stratford Scholarship, where they are exploring what care could look like outside of psychiatric systems of harm. Their work asks: What would it mean to hold each other in our full humanity, without pathologising pain? Across all of their work, KJ is committed to imagining and building liberatory futures, and creating accessible tools that help communities move toward those visions together.

Mush McLoughlan:

Mush McLoughlan is a white settler living on unceded Wurundjeri land. They are a mad psych survivor and deathsinger (someone who lives with ‘suicide’) and dream of a world free of cages of all kinds; from prisons to psych wards. Mush has a long history of navigating mental health systems, particularly crisis and suicide prevention services. These experiences have shown them the violence of coercive and pathologising approaches—and sparked their commitment to imagining and building radically different ways of being with people experiencing ‘suicidality’ or singing their death song. Mush began doing this work, co-founding and co-facilitating Alternatives to Suicide Naarm and with their 2024 Stratford Scholarship project where they explored deathsongs as a non-pathologising, community-based responses to ‘suicide’.

Tabitha Lean:

Tabitha Lean is a criminalised, Mad survivor and resister. She is a poet, artist, storyteller, disruptor, and troublemaker. Her work emerges from lived experience of both criminal and psychiatric incarceration, and is grounded in collective care, creative resistance, and the refusal of carceral and psychiatric control. She lives and creates at the margins — with love.

Tabitha is a co-recipient of the Stratford Scholarship, where she hopes to open a creative portal of possibility to imagine worlds beyond cages—where communities of care, grounded in radical reciprocity, render coercive psychiatry obsolete.

In South Australia, rural and regional communities have been overlooked in discussions and responses covering mental health and suicide prevention.

That is why LELAN has partnered with Country SA PHN as part of the Commonwealth government’s Targeted Regional Initiatives for Suicide Prevention (TRISP).

Under this initiative, an Advisory Group of people who have lived experience of suicide distress have collaborated to create a short film about what we have heard from our communities.

It aims to reduce stigma, increase help seeking, and improve community responsiveness and advocacy by sharing insights and solutions from people who have lived experience of distress or who have been impacted by suicide in rural and regional South Australian communities.

We will be holding an online launch for our short film, to share it with the community.

The format of the event will include:

Introduction

Film Screening

Panel Q&A

This online launch will be held 5:15pm – 6:15pm Thursday 27 June online via Zoom.

If you RSVP to this event, you will be sent the Zoom link to join us.

This is a recurring event - after you have registered once you are able to attend all of the LEARN events for the year via the same zoom link.

About the Lived Experience Advocacy Reflection Network (LEARN):

LEARN is a space for connection amongst people in South Australia who are interested in or new to using their personal lived experiences with mental health and other life challenges in advocacy for community and self.

When shared for a purpose our lived experience is a powerful tool that helps us connect with others and offer insight. Join us as we explore tools and strategies to use our experiences for change.

We collectively choose topics together at the start of each LEARN. 

Who is LEARN for:

LEARN provides a regular space for South Australian people with lived experience that are interested in or new to advocacy, to connect, reflect and explore ways of using their personal experiences with mental health and other life challenges in advocacy.

If you are interested in or are currently using your lived experience for advocacy and want to connect with others, share resources, refine skills and reflect together then LEARN is for you.

Please note that the focus for LEARN is creating a connection space for the lived experience community broadly. It is not a community of practice and does not focus on workforce. 

When and Where:

LEARN will meet online via Zoom every six weeks on a Tuesday.

This is a recurring event - once you have registered you are able to attend all of the LEARN events for the year via the same zoom link

Tue, 25 Feb, Tue, 8 Apr, Tue, 20 May, Tue, 1 Jul, Tue, 12 Aug, Tue, 23 Sep, Tue, 4 Nov, Tue, 16 Dec,

Facilitator:

The facilitators for LEARN on February 25th will be Emrys and Jess

You can learn more about the LELAN team at www.lelan.org.au/our-people. 

The global polycrisis, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and government inaction on climate change creates some feelings.

Climate Cafe’s are a place we can share those feelings with others and know we aren’t alone.

At our Café there is no guest speaker, no advice given, no call for action. 

Instead, you’ll find a supportive, facilitated conversational space for people to gather and share thoughts and feelings in response to the climate crisis. Here you can voice concerns that may not be welcomed or echoed elsewhere in your daily life. You’re invited to share with interested others how you’re really feeling at this challenging time. 

There may be laughter, there may be tears. There may be fear, there may be anger. Whatever you’re feeling is okay and valued. And it’s fine just to listen. Sharing, listening and being quiet together are all part of our Café.

Your presence matters most, and you’ll be warmly welcomed.

We want everybody to be able to access the support they need, so tickets to our Climate Cafes are offered by donation.

$20 is a standard starting place for a standard ticket to similar intiatives, have a think about what feels accessible for you - if that’s 0$ or $5 that is okay - it’s tough out here! 

Generous donations are welcome if you are able - it’s through donations from people like you that we are able to continue this work.

Facilitators

Tyler Key

Tyler is the lead custodian/convenor (or cheeky evolutionary operator) of Regen Places Network. A national network of communities regenerating their places. At the core of Tyler’s work has always supporting others to get where they want to go, when they might not get there alone. He does this by creating the conditions for people to connect with care, create shifts in perspective and develop their capacity and capability see the potential of our living world. His aim is that we collectively enable the regeneration of each other, our communities and our Mother Earth - with no being left behind

Hayley Moffiet, CPA

Hayley is a strategic advisor, systems thinker, and a convener in Regen Places Network, a community of changemakers reimagining place-based regeneration. She is also the founder of Haylo Consulting, a practice dedicated to guiding organisations and initiatives at the intersection of sustainability, social impact, and regenerative design & development. With a background in strategy, data and insights, circular economy, project delivery and purpose-led innovation, Hayley brings grounded wisdom and heartfelt leadership to complex challenges. Her work supports communities, enterprises, and ecosystems to thrive in harmony with people and our planet.

Further Info

If you have attended at least three (3) cafes you are able to complete the Climate Cafe Facilitator Training with PSC.

Program delivered by: Regen Places Network

Regen Places Network is dedicated to creating the conditions for a world where both nature and people work together to create more life. We work towards regeneration to restore our connection with the nature, ourselves, and our communities.

Our mission is to enable individuals and communities to integrate regeneration into their everyday lives through community-driven initiatives, and collaborative efforts. By 2030, we aim to develop 20,000 active citizens, creating a network of regenerative communities across Australia and beyond.

Tyler and Hayley were trained by PSC

Program designed by: Psychology for a Safe Climate (PSC) 

A not-for-profit organisation founded in 2010 in Melbourne, Australia, to foster emotional engagement with climate change. PSC was founded in response to the lack of individual and community commitment to address the climate emergency. Our purpose is to support people in facing the reality of the climate emergency. We aim to build people’s capacity to respond constructively to climate change by promoting and strengthening mental health and wellbeing. We engage with those working on climate change, the caring professions, and the broader community.

If you’re looking for further support or resources, you’ll find some here. If you’re based in Australia and needing further one-on-one help, you can reach out to someone in our Climate Aware Practitioner directory.

A member benefit of PSC is access to the Climate Cafe InterVision group where Climate Cafe facilitators from across organisations and Australia come for facilitated peer to peer learning and support in all aspects of delivering Climate Cafes.

Join us for the Regional Public Transport Review Webinar. This session will provide details about public transport services across the nine regions of South Australia and help you understand how to make a submission to the Regional Review.

About the regional public transport review

South Australia has an extensive regional public transport network, with 148 routes delivering vital services across 20 service regions.

The South Australian Government has committed to reviewing regional public transport services with the aim of providing access to integrated, accessible and effective public transport services that meet local needs.

Our Regional Review is focusing on identifying key needs and gaps in current services for regional communities, ensuring regional residents can reach key health, education, employment and social and recreational destinations. The review will provide recommendations to improve the regional public transport network in South Australia, ensuring these communities are well-serviced and connected.

More info and how to make a submission here: https://www.dit.sa.gov.au/about-us/strategies-plans/public-transport-future

The global polycrisis, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and government inaction on climate change creates some feelings.

Climate Cafe’s are a place we can share those feelings with others and know we aren’t alone.

At our Café there is no guest speaker, no advice given, no call for action. 

Instead, you’ll find a supportive, facilitated conversational space for people to gather and share thoughts and feelings in response to the climate crisis. Here you can voice concerns that may not be welcomed or echoed elsewhere in your daily life. You’re invited to share with interested others how you’re really feeling at this challenging time. 

There may be laughter, there may be tears. There may be fear, there may be anger. Whatever you’re feeling is okay and valued. And it’s fine just to listen. Sharing, listening and being quiet together are all part of our Café.

Your presence matters most, and you’ll be warmly welcomed.

We want everybody to be able to access the support they need, so tickets to our Climate Cafes are offered by donation.

$20 is a standard starting place for a standard ticket to similar intiatives, have a think about what feels accessible for you - if that’s 0$ or $5 that is okay - it’s tough out here! 

Generous donations are welcome if you are able - it’s through donations from people like you that we are able to continue this work.

Facilitators

Tyler Key

Tyler is the lead custodian/convenor (or cheeky evolutionary operator) of Regen Places Network. A national network of communities regenerating their places. At the core of Tyler’s work has always supporting others to get where they want to go, when they might not get there alone. He does this by creating the conditions for people to connect with care, create shifts in perspective and develop their capacity and capability see the potential of our living world. His aim is that we collectively enable the regeneration of each other, our communities and our Mother Earth - with no being left behind

Hayley Moffiet, CPA

Hayley is a strategic advisor, systems thinker, and a convener in Regen Places Network, a community of changemakers reimagining place-based regeneration. She is also the founder of Haylo Consulting, a practice dedicated to guiding organisations and initiatives at the intersection of sustainability, social impact, and regenerative design & development. With a background in strategy, data and insights, circular economy, project delivery and purpose-led innovation, Hayley brings grounded wisdom and heartfelt leadership to complex challenges. Her work supports communities, enterprises, and ecosystems to thrive in harmony with people and our planet.

Further Info

If you have attended at least three (3) cafes you are able to complete the Climate Cafe Facilitator Training with PSC.

Program delivered by: Regen Places Network

Regen Places Network is dedicated to creating the conditions for a world where both nature and people work together to create more life. We work towards regeneration to restore our connection with the nature, ourselves, and our communities.

Our mission is to enable individuals and communities to integrate regeneration into their everyday lives through community-driven initiatives, and collaborative efforts. By 2030, we aim to develop 20,000 active citizens, creating a network of regenerative communities across Australia and beyond.

Tyler and Hayley were trained by PSC

Program designed by: Psychology for a Safe Climate (PSC) 

A not-for-profit organisation founded in 2010 in Melbourne, Australia, to foster emotional engagement with climate change. PSC was founded in response to the lack of individual and community commitment to address the climate emergency. Our purpose is to support people in facing the reality of the climate emergency. We aim to build people’s capacity to respond constructively to climate change by promoting and strengthening mental health and wellbeing. We engage with those working on climate change, the caring professions, and the broader community.

If you’re looking for further support or resources, you’ll find some here. If you’re based in Australia and needing further one-on-one help, you can reach out to someone in our Climate Aware Practitioner directory.

A member benefit of PSC is access to the Climate Cafe InterVision group where Climate Cafe facilitators from across organisations and Australia come for facilitated peer to peer learning and support in all aspects of delivering Climate Cafes.

Video Recording of the event is up here: https://youtu.be/oL4Zk_0iHHg

The continuing algal bloom along the South Australian coastline is having a devastating impact on our unique, local marine life. As the situation continues the community are looking for answers as to why this is happening and what we can do to protect our shores.

Join us for a panel discussion with a range of local experts who will discuss the science behind the algal bloom and offer opportunities to get involved as community members in the important work of recording and monitoring the bloom as it progresses.

The panel of speakers includes:

Emeritus Professor Ian Gibbins - specialist in animal anatomy and physiology Associate Professor Jochen Kaempf - physical oceanographer at Flinders University Brad Martin - marine ecologist and Project Manager for OzFish South Australia Janine Baker - marine ecologist, educator and citizen science project manager Chloe Roberts - Flinders University PhD student studying sharks & rays
Paul Macdonald - marine photographer, cinematographer & citizen scientist For further information please contact the Port Environment Centre on 0488 229 925 or email hello@portenvironmentcentre.org.au

The Port Environment Centre is funded by Green Adelaide.

We also operate with a City of Port Adelaide Enfield Living Environment Grant and funding from the Suzanne Elliott Charitable Trust.

Join us for the Regional Public Transport Review Webinar. This session will provide details about public transport services across the nine regions of South Australia and help you understand how to make a submission to the Regional Review.

About the regional public transport review

South Australia has an extensive regional public transport network, with 148 routes delivering vital services across 20 service regions.

The South Australian Government has committed to reviewing regional public transport services with the aim of providing access to integrated, accessible and effective public transport services that meet local needs.

Our Regional Review is focusing on identifying key needs and gaps in current services for regional communities, ensuring regional residents can reach key health, education, employment and social and recreational destinations. The review will provide recommendations to improve the regional public transport network in South Australia, ensuring these communities are well-serviced and connected.

More info and how to make a submission here: https://www.dit.sa.gov.au/about-us/strategies-plans/public-transport-future

Mark your calendars for a week of action as communities across the country come together for Australia’s first-ever Extreme Heat Awareness Day. This day will be all about raising awareness of the risks of extreme heat and community led solutions to staying safe and cool during the hot summer months.

By joining in, you’ll be part of a national movement working towards cooler homes, streets and suburbs for everyone. Expect local events, fun activities, and plenty of practical tips to help you beat the heat.

Click “going” to stay updated on event details, including exciting prizes and activities happening near you.

I’m Disabled, How the Hell Do I Survive/ Resist This? To Exist Is to Resist: A workshop facilitated by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Are you disabled/ chronically ill/ have a condition/ Mad, sick, neurodivergent, Deaf/ Hard of Hearing or some or all of the above? Does the escalation in fascism scare the shit out of you and are you wondering how you can resist in a way that is accessible to your body/ mind? If you are disabled you are already resisting on a daily basis; this workshop will be a space to share and learn about different models of disabled organizing and resistance that have and are already happening, and plot your own.

Bio: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (they/she) is an older cousin, regular person, memory worker, disability and transformative justice old bytch, and the author or co-editor of ten books, including The Future Is Disabled, (co-edited with Ejeris DIxon)Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the transformative justice movemen,t Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice, Tonguebreaker and Dirty River. A Disability Futures Fellow, Lambda and Jeanne Córdova Award winner, five-time Publishing Triangle shortlister and longtime disabled QTBIPOC space maker, they are currently building Living Altars, a cultural space by and for disabled QTBIPOC writers. They are a new Philly resident after being a longtime visiting cousin.

January 8, 2025 - 6:30 to /

ASL and Live Captioning will be provided.

This workshop is part of a mini-series of workshops that offer an opportunity to answer the question that many people are asking: “How do I take action where I am?”

These five 90-minute sessions happening in December & January are intended to provide concrete ideas and steps that anyone can take. Each session is facilitated by long-time activists and organizers.

The sessions will be offered as Zoom webinars, but we will not record them. A couple of days before each session, we will email a Zoom link to all registrants. Importantly, these workshops are appropriate for people who are new to activism and organizing. They will not be useful if you are a long-time activist and organizer because you’re already taking action.

For the workshops, we will offer ASL interpretation and enable closed captions. We will have live captions for the January 8th workshop. A tech and access support person will be present throughout the event to attend to any emergent participant needs regarding Zoom and access.

Each workshop is a standalone session, but it’s a good idea to register for Mapping Your Social Change Ecosystem as an introduction so that you can assess your skills and interests in activism and organizing.

Please DO NOT register if you know you cannot attend. This is important. Space is limited. So please don’t register as a placeholder.

These sessions are being offered at no cost to participants BUT this does not mean they are free. There are costs associated with putting together such a program (labor, tech, interpretation costs etc…). If you can make a donation, please do. Funds will cover the costs of ASL. We will donate any surplus funds to REBUILD.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you make a donation, that counts as one ticket so you do not also have to register for a free ticket. It’s either a free ticket OR a donation one.

This mini-series is organized by educator and organizer, Mariame Kaba.

Join us for an online grant writing workshop with Access2Arts that will help you to prepare your upcoming grant applications.

Note: These grant writing workshops are only for people who identify as being disabled (disabilities can include identifying as neurodivergent, and living with mental illness and/or chronic illness).

Grant Writing Workshop Online Reservation Form

Please join us in creating this community care peer support space.

There is a particular reality around what it means to be disabled and engaged in movement and social justice work.

The space will be animated by questions such as:

What does it mean in our activism, in our movements, in our work and in our communities to be all in?
What sacrifices are inherent, what do we gain, what do we give up and what is expected of us?
Am I worthy, do I have the ability to be in the movement, do I have a place here?

Unfortunately, support groups at home are often not enough. We need expanded possibilities around how we live and work as disabled and chronically ill people.

On Tuesday 5 November, we are running an online Digital Campaigning Training. This training will cover the fundamentals of strong digital campaigning, including:

What is digital campaigning, what is it useful for, and how does it fit with in-person campaigning?
Digital campaigning tools, including a comparison of social media platforms
How to create impactful social media content 
Messaging and narrative strategy 
How to plan a digital campaign

This training will be facilitated by Sam, a writer and communicator. She is a white settler based in Naarm on unceded Boon Wurrung land. She believes in the power of the stories we all hold, and works with grassroots groups and organisations to tell their stories, communicate well, and create change.

Thanks to Sam’s generosity, this training is free and available to all grassroots volunteers working for freedom and liberation for all. In lieu of payment, attendees are encouraged to donate $5-$20 to mutual aid fundraisers (eg. https://www.instagram.com/p/DBLu0BBTXmC/) if they have the financial means to.

Accessibility:

This training will be via zoom. Zoom captioning will be available. A plain text document of the slides will be distributed at the start of the training.

Participants are encouraged to actively participate and have their video on, but are welcome to leave or take breaks anytime, and have their video off if necessary.

If you have questions about accessibility, or if your needs have not been met, please message us via our instagram (@freepalestineadl) to let us know how we can support your attendance at this training.

You’re invited to attend the Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture

• Friday 1 November | 12:00pm – 1:30pm • Free online webinar

Join hundreds of people around the country for the prestigious Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture. This year’s event will discuss ‘Dismantling systemic racism – perspectives from First Nations peoples’.

CEO of First Nations Collective Consulting Marni Tuala will deliver the lecture and share the findings of extensive consultations with First Nations peoples across Australia about their experiences of racism.

This is a FREE online event. About this event

Systemic racism, in law, policies and service delivery, has serious and ongoing consequences for First Nations peoples, including poor mental and physical health, economic disadvantage, over-incarceration and social exclusion.

This lecture and panel discussion is an opportunity to hear about their experiences and proposed solutions.

Addressing these issues requires a concerted effort to reform systems, educate individuals, and ensure meaningful representation for First Nations peoples.

The annual Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture advances public understanding and debate about the Racial Discrimination Act, racism and human rights. It honours the Hon. Kep Enderby QC (1926-2015) who as Attorney-General, introduced into Parliament the Bill which would become the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth). Information and registration

The lecture will be delivered online via Zoom. Auslan interpretation and live captioning will be available.

The deadline for registrations is Thursday 31 October 2024.

Join our national webinar with Australia’s Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek for a vital discussion about strengthening our nature laws.

Right now, our national environment laws are undergoing once-in-a-generation reform and it’s a huge opportunity to win changes that can finally protect the places and wildlife we love, right across Australia. To stop destructive land clearing, coal mines in koala habitats, and logging that kills gliders. Speaking up for nature has never been important.

Join our webinar with Minister Plibersek and be part of a collective, nation-wide voice advocating for nature.

This national event is hosted by the State and Territory Conservation Councils of Australia, representing numerous local environmental organisations and thousands of members. We’ve long advocated for the national parks and protected areas across Australia, standing with Traditional Owners in their efforts to care for country.

Please join us for another ASBN SustainabiliTEA - a time to enjoy some tea (or morning beverage of your choice) whilst having a yarn about a diversity of topics around sustainable and regenerative built environments.

Our upcoming SustainabiliTEA session will be with Dr Jacinta Humphrey, Urban Ecologist and Postdoctoral Researcher with the ICON Science group at RMIT University.

How to improve habitat for native birds in urban areas Australia’s population is steadily increasing, prompting the need for new houses, shops and roads. Whilst these developments are important for our community, they may have a negative impact on the birds that share our suburbs. So, how do birds respond to urban development? Why do some species cope better than others? And what can we do to better support the more sensitive species?

We look forward to hearing Dr Jacinta Humphrey insights on what makes a residential street, urban park or private garden, bird-friendly, whilst sharing space with you all virtually over a soothing cuppa!

About the Speaker

Dr Jacinta Humphrey // (she/her)
Urban Ecologist and Postdoctoral Researcher with the ICON Science group at RMIT University. Her work explores the application of Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design and aims to guide the creation of multi-functional spaces where people and nature can thrive. She also monitors the Birrarung Trial Floating Wetlands, a series of artificial habitat islands installed in the Yarra River-Birrarung, on behalf of The University of Melbourne.

With an anticipated doubling of the city’s population by 2036, the decisions we make today are going to shape Adelaide’s economy for the next generation. The City of Adelaide’s Draft Economic Strategy, a thriving economy that works for all, outlines how to leverage the city’s competitive advantages so we can continue to be the place people choose to live, work, and play.

This Strategy allows City of Adelaide to plan with a vision and ambition about the future of our city, setting bold targets that would give Adelaide the chance to be the envy of global cities.

Have your say on the Strategy before May 31 at the link in my bio ☝️

Follow https://www.instagram.com/lordmayoradl

Legal observers are independent from the protests they attend. As such they neither liaise with police or other groups about people attending the protest, nor participate in the protest in any other capacity (eg as a police liaison or marshal).

Having legal observers at a protest sends a message of solidarity with, and affirmation of, the democratic right of citizens to protest. Protesters who may feel frightened by the situation they find themselves in can feel more supported when legal observers are present.

Experience in many areas has found that having legal observers at a protest acts as a deterrence for poor behaviour on the part of police and security personnel towards protesters. Notes and records collected by legal observers can be used to provide evidence for ongoing dialogue with police about police behaviour. What Do Legal Observers Do?

Legal observers observe, record and monitor the actions of police and private security personnel including:

detailing interactions between police/security personnel and members of the public

taking photos and/or videos of key incidents

making a detailed written account of any incidents

collecting evidence for further reports or follow-up after the event

How To Become a Legal Observer

When necessary, SALO runs Legal Observer Training workshops for people who are interested in learning the basics of legal observing, how it works, what it can be used for, and why it’s important for activists. This training is a requirement for being a legal observer with SALO; however, it’s also a great opportunity to get to know the basics of legal observing and the skills involved for use in your own organisation.