We were thrilled to receive 34 applications from a diverse cohort of organisations. Stay tuned for our Spark report, where we'll dive into the types of organisations, proposed approaches, and application trends.

In the end, we selected six applications that embraced the spirit and potential of Spark. Although not a formal assessment criterion, we're excited that the funded proposals represent a variety of organisational types and sizes, encompassing diverse community groups from both metropolitan and regional communities across South Australia.

We eagerly look forward to building these new partnerships over the next year. Most importantly, we're thrilled about the invaluable insights that will be gained as these organisations collaborate with their communities to explore these ideas, and the contribution this will have in supporting mental health and wellbeing for the South Australian community.

Meet our new Spark partners and discover the incredible work they'll be undertaking alongside their communities in the next 12 months...

COTA SA Rainbow Hub

The Rainbow Dog: A Positive Mental Health Initiative For The LGBTI+ Community

Capacity building, connecting Rainbow Community, identifying positive mental health strategies.

COTA SA Rainbow Hub will explore the impact of sudden illness on the mental wellbeing and sense of identity of LGBTI+ elders. 

 With an eye to uncovering pathways for prevention and through an understanding of the ways marginalisation and discrimination experienced across a lifetime impact on resilience at times of such stress, COTA SA Rainbow Hub will work with their community and stakeholders to map key patterns and barriers across people’s experiences to inform opportunities for more effective practices and future action.

Beacon of Hope

Building Together Tumby Bay

Demonstrate how capacity building can create a strong and healthy community network.

Beacon of Hope want to explore opportunities and ideas that will support preventative & sustainable approaches to improve mental wellbeing by listening to their community to ascertain what is needed for everyone to thrive.

Part of this involves building skills and knowledge around community engagement to empower community to activate projects that support connection and well-being.

Mariposa Trails in partnership with African Soul

Miish33 (Happiness) Through Music

Build community capacity through connection, learning, and the power of music.

Mariposa Trails, in partnership with African Soul, aim to improve the mental wellbeing of their community through creating spaces of shared learning and experiences to develop appropriate, culturally informed approaches.

They plan to explore community learning circles, enhancing opportunities for connection and creating spaces where conversations about social, emotional and mental health are more accepted. Through these they’ll continue to centre cultural resilience as a key concept of wellbeing, safety, and the prevention of suicide and mental distress.

Parents for Parents

Exploring prevention and wellbeing with Parents for Parents

Capacity building, empowering, connecting, educating and supporting parents/carers.

Parents for Parents will work to identify opportunities to recognise strengths in families and the vital role that parents play in the wellbeing of their children.   

Aiming to reduce harm from poor mental health/suicidality in South Australian children/young people, Parents for Parents seeks to better understand what successful preventative approaches to mental health across all stages could look like, within a context of parents/carers 'first fitting their own oxygen masks'.

Umoona Tjutagku Health Service

The Best Of Our Culture. Steps To The Future

Strengthen sense of identity, family, kinship and culture.

Umoona Tjutagku Health Service intend to strengthen community resilience by supporting opportunities for members of their community to collect knowledge of their heritage, culture, language, and ceremonies.

Through tracing their family trees, knowing who they are connected to, strengthening ties to the land and capturing the stories, the dance and the language of the elders they hope to strengthen cultural pride within their local Aboriginal community and support a sense of belonging and social and emotional wellbeing.

Youth Options

Now And Beyond

Build a deeper understanding and building capability with their community.

Youth Options are looking to understand how they can support the transition of young people from their support service and into study or employment. 

They’ll be working with their community to explore some key questions around preventative supports as young people transition out of support services as well as broadly looking to understand what the people in their community value and see as important to them living a purposeful life with good wellbeing.