It is estimated that 90 to 94% of individuals living with FASD will have a co-occurring mental health issue (Streissguth et al., 1996) FASD affects an estimated 2-5% of Australia’s population It is a permanent brain impairment which affects executive functioning, processing speed, memory, attention, impulsivity, learning ability, social skills and language. Individuals with FASD can experience an array of psychiatric disorders, increasing the need for specialist mental health services over the lifespan (Brown et al., 2017). Parents and carers of people with FASD are also negatively impacted in many ways (Baskin et al., 2016).

This presentation will provide understanding of individuals impacted by FASD and mental health issues.

We will look at the importance of early identification and intervention in mitigating the mental health challenges associated with FASD.

A holistic approach to service delivery that supports individuals and families affected by FASD, aligning with the future vision of personalised and community-based care.

This presentation describes and analyses two LGBTIQA+ peer community mental health programs operated by Drummond Street Services in Victoria, the Queerspace Mentoring and Youth Programs (DS, 2025a; 2025b). These programs are discussed as case studies for the benefits of merging community development and therapeutic case coordination practice models for preventing mental ill-health and promoting wellbeing for the LGBTIQA+ community, contributing a model for consideration towards a better mental health system by 2050.

These programs provide free dyadic and group peer-supported, community-based, social activity opportunities in Melbourne with therapeutic wellbeing outcomes for LGBTIQA+ folks across the lifespan. They strengthen social interactions within community and bring people together by facilitating dialogue, understanding, and action (Hill et al., 2022). It is recognised that the absence of such community experiences has led to mental ill-health and emotional distress through isolation and individualisation (Arango et al., 2023; Edwards et al., 2022), and these programs reverse these processes.

These programs successfully facilitate ongoing peer support through social justice and systems therapy frameworks (Ife, 2016; Black, 2020), addressing the structural barriers that the LGBTIQA+ community encounters in finding spaces, services, and connections that feel safe, supportive, and celebratory of the diversity of their experiences and identities. They also enact greater self-reports of wellbeing via the equitable provision of psychosocial and community-driven mutual aid (DH, 2023).

Background: Poor diet is a key cardiovascular disease risk factor in schizophrenia. The SNaCK study evaluated the feasibility of providing pre-prepared meals (PPs) and meal kits (MKs) to people with schizophrenia.

Methods: In a 12-week randomized controlled cross-over trial, 18 adults with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder were recruited from a metropolitan community mental health service. Participants received four weeks each of PPs (one frozen main meal/day), MK (fresh ingredients for four recipes to make seven main meal serves/week) and control (supermarket voucher). Feasibility was assessed by self-reported meal adherence (≥half of meal eaten ≥80% of days, MK recipe followed ≥50% of time), meal wastage (some meal remained uneaten ≤25% of time) and preparation difficulty (considered easy/moderate ≥80% of time) using a daily checklist.

Results: Participants adhered to prescribed meals on 62% of days for both MKs and PPs and followed MK recipes 76% of the time. Meal wastage was higher in PPs (55%) than MKs (31%). Meal preparation was considered easy/moderate (85% and 99.7% of the time for MKs and PPs, respectively). Voucher was spent on food only 47% of the time.

Conclusion: Both interventions were feasible in preparation difficulty, with MK showing less wastage. Neither were feasible for meal adherence.

In 2025, people diagnosed with mental illness face significant barriers to accessing preventive health care, contributing to deaths from preventable conditions like breast cancer. The Equally Well1 Health Navigators Project will be a six-month regional trial designed to compare the effectiveness of peer workers, carers and clinicians as navigators in improving access to preventive health care for people with mental illness. This initiative aims to build an evidence base for best practices in reducing preventable deaths from conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.1
Despite the well-documented health disparities faced by people with mental illness,2-4 systemic barriers persist.5 This trial explores how different navigation approaches – from a peer, carer, and clinical perspective, can connect individuals to appropriate services, advocate for their rights, and break down barriers within the health system. By comparing these models, the project will identify the most effective ways to ensure equitable, person-centered, and trauma-informed care.
Ultimately, this trial seeks to inform future policy and practice, ensuring that people with mental illness receive timely, life-saving health interventions. Hopefully, by 2050, people living with mental health conditions are no longer left behind in preventive healthcare, receiving the same opportunities for early detection and treatment as anyone else.

Those who work alongside refugee communities in Australia have long recognized the need for settlement services to be conscious of and responsive to the lived experiences, perspectives and cultural backgrounds of the people we support. The Mental Health Community Living Supports for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (MH-CLSR) program is a psycho-social and community-based program which puts into practise “person-centred” approaches, supporting clients to access support on their own terms and in their own communities. Established in 2019, the program extends support not only to refugees who have arrived through Australia’s Humanitarian Program, but also to people seeking asylum and those holding temporary visas. This is a necessary and important inclusion for people who have often been excluded from supports and who face increasing marginalization in the Australian context. To date, STARTTS (NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors) and New Horizons have supported approximately 200 clients and their families through the CLSR program. Program staff, many bi-cultural and with lived experience, work closely with clinical partners and other stakeholders through a collaborative effort, providing practical supports alongside clinical interventions such as counselling treatment, medications and bodywork therapy. Staff also collaborate with schools, health networks, and other community services. A Process Evaluation (2022) has demonstrated the value of the program’s unique and flexible model of care, indicating high client trust and satisfaction levels. Additionally, the evaluation found that supporting family and community connections is vital to strengthening recovery outcomes for clients, a key intention of the program model. This presentation will use practical examples from the program, including methods for recovery goal setting (developed with clients, and in many cases their families, and based on their unique situations and hopes for the future). Commonly seen outcomes of CLSR program participants, such as improvements in mental health, enhanced confidence and independence, will also be explored.