Country SA PHN is delivering the Distress Brief Support (DBS) pilot – a new and free community-based approach to supporting people experiencing emotional and situational stress or distress, in the Whyalla and Port Lincoln regions.
DBS is made up of two elements:
- Community engagement points that provide a compassionate response to people, along with the offer of connection to further support; and
- A short-term support team that provides up to 3 weeks of practical support and connections to broader services and support that address the drivers of distress.
The program supports people aged 18 years and above who are experiencing distress to develop skills to manage their circumstances and access non-clinical, short-term support as an alternative to hospital-based care. Distress Brief Support recognises that while clinical intervention can be effective, it is not suitable for everyone. The program will focus on understanding how distress can be de-escalated and managed in a less confronting setting grounded in lived and living experience – with peer workers at its core.
This approach is specifically designed for people who are not in crisis and do not require emergency care – filling a critical gap in the mental health care system by offering earlier, community-based help. People experiencing suicidal ideation will not be excluded from accessing DBS, despite its primary purpose being proactive rather than reactive healthcare.
The DBS pilot has been carefully co-designed with Centacare Catholic Country SA and Neami National in the Whyalla and Port Lincoln regions, to enable people to access support from their local communities through their everyday interactions. DBS is about connection to community support for people who might not walk into a formal service, but would turn up to, for example, a community centre, sporting club, library, or a Men’s Shed, where conversations naturally happen.
Strengthening the capacity of these local touchpoints is essential in addressing distress, because it can’t be left to mental health and suicide prevention services alone. Community feedback through co-design efforts tells us that local knowledge and trust are central to making the DBS pilot work, andthat support provided to community engagement points is grounded in local context, relationships and insight.
