Lived Experience Programs
Activating Lived Experience Leadership
(ALEL)
The Activating Lived Experience Leadership (ALEL) Project, developed by Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Network (LELAN) in partnership with the University of South Australia, was a major South Australian initiative (2019–2021) focused on strengthening lived experience leadership across the mental health system. ALEL was a participatory action research and community development project designed to understand, define, and embed lived experience leadership—bringing together consumers, carers, researchers, and system leaders to co-design strategies for change
Mental Health Equality in the Workplace (MHEW) Program
The Mental Health Equality in the Workplace (MHEW) program was an initiative run by Colorado Mental Wellness Network in the United States 🇺🇸 that aimed to help workplaces better understand and support employee mental health through education, training, and anti-stigma initiatives. It worked by partnering with businesses to deliver workshops and resources that reduced stigma, encouraged open conversations, and promoted wellbeing, recovery, and inclusion for employees with mental health challenges, positioning mental health as both a human and organisational priority
Respond Empower Advocate Listen (R.E.A.L) Program
The REAL program collaborates with providers, law enforcement, and community members to offer rapid access to a trained Peer Specialist locally and within the Region 5 Systems area. Peer Specialists strive to build connections with individuals who may be experiencing a variety of hardship related to mental health, substance use, trauma, previous incarceration and/or other life altering experiences.
Justice-Involved Initiative
MHEP’s Justice-Involved Initiatives are rooted in the belief that every individual deserves the opportunity to rebuild, recover, and thrive. Serving Westchester and Rensselaer counties, these programs provide pathways to healing and second chances. From preparing incarcerated individuals for meaningful careers as peer advocates to offering restorative alternatives for first-time offenses, MHEP meets people where they are—helping them rediscover purpose, strengthen resilience, and successfully return to their communities with dignity and hope.
Peer Co-Reesponder Project
The Peer Co-Responder Project brings Certified Peer and Recovery Specialists into police vehicles so they can respond to calls together with officers, provide person-centered support during and after crises, and help people connect with behavioral health and recovery services instead of entering deeper into the justice system.
Individual Placement and Support Program
(IPS)
The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) program provided by the Tennessee Mental Health Consumers' Association is an evidence-based supported employment program designed to help people with lived experience of mental illness gain and maintain meaningful work. It is built on the idea that employment is a key part of recovery—supporting people to find competitive jobs quickly, while also providing ongoing, individualised support to help them succeed in the workplace. In practice, the program works by bridging the gap between wanting to work and actually securing employment, offering services such as job search assistance, placement, coaching, and follow-along support. It promotes lived experience by empowering individuals to rebuild identity, confidence, and independence through meaningful participation in the workforce, positioning employment as a core pathway to recovery and social inclusion.
Next Step
The Next Step program is designed to empower individuals, providing the tools and support necessary to navigate their personal journeys. Through this program, participants are paired with a peer specialist who shares similar life experiences, fostering a supportive and understanding environment. Each participant will meet with their peer specialist at least once a week, focusing on developing self-directed goals and addressing current challenges.
The Wildflower Alliance has Community Bridger, people who can ease the transition from hospital back to community for those who would like additional support. This support can look different ways. Some examples are:
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Information about your rights while still in the hospital or after you’ve left
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Advocacy and support getting your voice heard
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Going out for a cup of coffee together
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Support at a meeting or appointment
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Brainstorming and thinking through next steps
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Support with paperwork and steps necessary for food stamps, social security, paying bills and more
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Explore community resources together—such as support groups, cultural spaces or other places to find community.
Community Bridging
Mapping the mental wellbeing system in Aotearoa
The Mapping the Mental Wellbeing System in Aotearoa project, led by Changing Minds 🇳🇿, is a lived experience–led research initiative that seeks to understand what the mental wellbeing system actually looks like by mapping people’s real-life experiences across health, social, justice, and community systems. It supports lived experience by placing people’s stories at the centre of system understanding, training lived experience researchers, and producing maps and reports that reflect how wellbeing is shaped in practice—ensuring policy and system reform are grounded in the voices of those directly impacted
Storytelling Program
Changing Minds is launching a storytelling programme to introduce the Lived Experience community, our kaupapa, and our ways of thinking. It will be a mixture of self-directed learning with videos and other media, plus written reflective exercises, as well as Zoom connection sessions with other learners. We expect that the programme will take roughly six weeks to complete, with around two hours per week. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in this programme, please let us know with an Expression of Interest.
Lived Experience Workforce Program (LEWP)
(South Australia)
LEWP is a structured program supporting the development of the peer workforce through training, supervision, and leadership development. It strengthens lived experience by building professional pathways and embedding peer roles across the mental health system
The Lived Experience Hub draws upon 22 lived experience programs to provide an overview of the diverse initiatives shaping the movement globally. This page showcases the wide range of possibilities when designing a program, highlighting different models across advocacy, peer support, workforce development, research, and system reform. Rather than reinventing the wheel, many of these programs offer proven designs that can be adapted and implemented in new contexts. Explore this page if you are looking to design a lived experience program, learn from existing models, and build on what is already working around the world.
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