We were moved by the depth of consideration and compassion to explore meaningful change in the ways that we connect, support one another, and create the conditions for belonging together in community.

The Foundation received 63 applications and engaged in even more conversations with potential applicants during the six weeks the grant round was open. We appreciate everyone who shared this opportunity with a peer or organisation they believed would benefit from this type of resourcing. We will share an article in the coming months with insights about who we heard from, their priorities and what we learnt through this process.

We would like to introduce you to our six Spark partners that all have deep connections with community groups that they will be learning with to better understand, explore and develop insights and evidence about what is integral to support their mental health and wellbeing for themselves, and for the benefit of others.

Autism SA

Thriving Together: Co-Creating Well-being Supports for Parents of Autistic Children

Community-informed model supporting parent well-being, connection, and resilience.

Recognising an unmet need in the community, Autism SA aims to increase understanding of the unique wellbeing challenges faced by parents of autistic children by engaging in deep learning around the lived experiences of the autism community.

Drawing on its longstanding and strong connection with the Autistic and autism communities as South Australia’s autism peak body, Autism SA will use a co-design approach to understand and develop a model that supports parents of autistic children to feel connected and supported. 

The hope is that this approach may be replicated across different communities and empower members of the autism community to thrive together.

Mentally Fit EP

A Good Goodbye - The Journey to Dying Well

Solutions on how to better support dying well and grief.

In implementing “A Good Goodbye - Journey to Dying Well”, Mentally Fit EP are driven by the recognition that while loss is inevitable, the trauma associated with death and dying can be lessened when end-of-life is approached holistically and with a range of supports. 

Mentally Fit EP is a community driven initiative delivered by West Coast Youth and Community Support aimed at partnering across community to support conversations and actions that build mental fitness and wellbeing from a strengths based perspective. Their goal is to work with local community members and organisations to understand the current barriers and gaps in support for individuals, families and caregivers facing end-of-life challenges and move towards a culture of engaging openly as a community about conversations of loss and grief and support for each other through this process.

Ruby Hunter Foundation

Supporting Young and Emerging Leaders

Community led and culturally safe holistic supports to strengthen self-determination.

Building on the legacy of Ruby Hunter, the Foundation will work alongside community on Peramangk Country to support young and emerging leaders, elders and community members to gather in spaces and ways to strengthen self-determination and support each other. 

Their work will explore the role Ruby Hunter Foundation can play in supporting opportunities for community to come together in culturally safe ways to work through challenges and come together around priorities and opportunities.

South Australian Grassroots Ecosystem (SAGE)

Exploring the Mental Health and Wellbeing of South Australian Changemakers Connected to South Australian Grassroots Ecosystem (SAGE)

Co-created community resources and practices for capacity building.

SAGE, as a volunteer-run, community-centred grassroots collective, will spend time with South Australian changemakers who advocate for environmental, societal and political change, to explore what strengthens and sustains their mental health and wellbeing.

Community-led insights will inform the co-creation of resources and strategies designed to support the wellbeing of changemakers. Resources and findings may be shared with other communities in the hope that they may benefit and build upon this work.

South Australian Rainbow Advocacy Alliance (SARAA)

Pride over Prejudice: LGBTIQA+ community solutions to hate and discrimination

Capacity to develop LGBTIQA+ community-led solutions to hate and discrimination.

SARAA will bring together members of the LGBTIQA+ community across South Australia to share their experiences in a spirit of healing, to build their shared community knowledge, and explore and strengthen ways to support each other in the face of the stigma and discrimination that continues to negatively impact mental health and wellbeing.

Their hope is to create spaces that allow for community to feel affirmed, supported, connected and resourced to advocate for services and systems to be safe, inclusive and standing against discrimination.

The Reily Foundation

Understanding lived experience of infant removals in South Australia: a platform for change

Knowledge development for capability building and supportive lived experience network.

Drawing on the perspectives of those involved with statutory child protection in South Australia, The Reily Foundation aims to identify ways to support parents before, during, and after infant removals by listening deeply to those impacted by this experience. 

In disseminating findings gathered through deep community consultation, and elevating the voices of those with lived experience of infant removal, this project hopes to inform systems change at the intersection of child protection and health in South Australia and promote positive, long-term outcomes for families and the broader community.