Announcement of the Next Generation Researcher Network Capacity-Building Seed Funding Scheme 2025
Congratulations to this year’s Lived-Experience Researcher Led award recipient Caroline Walters (Monash University).
With this funding, Caroline will research Meeting the Needs of Mental Health Family Carers through a Family Carer Lived Experience Worker Telephone Support Line alongisde her team: Melissa Petrakis (Monash University), Joanna Tilkeridis (Tandem Carers), Wendy Ayzit (Tandem Carers) and Mary Felton (Tandem Carers).
Receiving support from someone with similar experiences to you has been internationally noted as highly valued by mental health family carers. Peer-to-peer telephone helplines have been established for carers in Australia. An example of this is Tandem Carers’ Support and Referral Line, staffed by advisors with their own lived experience of providing support and care for people with mental health challenges. The service enables family carers to receive general advice, advocacy and information on services to meet needs, from someone who understands their situation. Archival records held by Tandem, show exponential growth in the numbers of calls since being established in 2017. Understanding reasons for accessing the service, the types of help provided, and how a peer led helpline supports family carers will improve service development. This project will explore the benefits and challenges of the helpline for family carers including across diverse communities and locations within Victoria. Through a review of the literature, an analysis of archival records, group and individual interviews with people who have used the support line, the potential of peer-to-peer telephone support in meeting family carer needs can be determined. These lines may be especially beneficial in areas where services are difficult to access.
