About

Connected to Care was established by Lake Macquarie Suicide Prevention Network (LMSPN) in 2021 as an online mental health resource.

We built this website to be a place where anyone in Lake Macquarie or Newcastle can find relevant, local mental health support services for themselves, or someone they are supporting.

Why ‘Connected To Care’?

After more than 12 years working with individuals and families who have been impacted by suicide, we kept getting feedback that it’s difficult to find mental health support, without trawling multiple websites and getting lost among the options.

Navigating the sea of information is even harder for someone who’s anxious or losing sleep because they need help themselves or someone they’re caring for needs support.

The dream was to make it easy for people in Lake Macquarie and Newcastle to access professional, experienced and understanding mental health support services online, and at a time when they need it most.

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Our mission is to reduce the impact and incidence of suicide in the Lake Macquarie & Newcastle region.

We believe everybody deserves the right to access mental health care when they need it.

It takes education. Awareness. Courage to take the next step. Sensitivity. Expertise. Kindness. Rest. Time. Professional help. Support from friends & family.

By enabling easy access to local support services, we remove the barriers people may face in finding and accessing support, and positively impact our community by connecting people to care.

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Events & Training

Resources

As an organisation, LMNSPN is committed to reducing the impact and incidence of suicide in the Lake Macquarie and Newcastle regions.

The Lake Macquarie and Newcastle Suicide Prevention Network has been operating for 14 years across the Lake Macquarie and Newcastle LGA’s, delivering health promotion activities, community events, social media promotion, educational seminars and an online resource hub for those in the local area.

LMNSPN delivers wellbeing events to promote help-seeking behaviours and connection to support services and social interaction. The LMNSPN has recently opened the Evolve Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub in Elermore Vale as a space for people to receive support, connection and information to help improve their mental health and wellbeing.

From this space we deliver 1:1 support programming to those who are experiencing personal challenges.

We have a vast network of over 25 community agencies who have connected to our organisation as Organisational Members. We utilise this Network to provide individuals and families access to a range of supports including youth mental health support, general counselling and psychology, teen resilience and self-efficacy, LGBTIQ+ supports, allied health services, social supports, play therapy and community based activities.

We provide Volunteering opportunities that engages our large volunteer base of 50 individuals in activities such as gardening and permaculture, health promotion, eventing and social programming, centre based supports and our ‘Greet Team’.

Our vision is for ‘A vibrant, active and aware community united to reduce the impact and incidence of suicide’. Our Mission is ‘To empower the Lake Macquarie and Newcastle communities through connection and information about Suicide Prevention. We do this through Support – Education – Advocacy – Walking alongside those with Lived Experience’

Over the past 8 years, the Hunter region has experienced significant traumatic events such as fires, floods, drought, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of these events on the mental health of those in our community has been profound, with many people experiencing challenges associated with isolation and social anxiety as well as the tertiary impacts on employment, housing, relationships, and general health. We at the Lake Macquarie and Newcastle Suicide Prevention Network are driven to ensure that we are able to provide information, advice, and support throughout our community. This enables us to help people to reconnect, access support, engage in community activity, and live a well life. We value connections and the strength that exists within our community. We see this in the services that we work with as well as those with Lived Experience who provide insights into the challenges they face, and the need that exists to better support those who are in need.

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Since 2009, we’ve been working with people impacted by suicide.

First launched in 2009 by Faye and Brian Hawley, the Lake Macquarie Suicide Prevention Network (LMSPN) connected with locals whose lives were impacted by suicide. The goal was to prevent suicide and support grieving families through education, advocacy and supporting those with lived experience. LMSPN was incorporated in 2011 as a not-for profit charity and is always open to new members and volunteers.

LMSPN established annual events, including The Walk and annual Candle Lighting Remembrance Day, to give families an opportunity to publicly honour the memories of those they had lost through suicide. LMSPN had stalls at markets and community events to raise awareness that there is mental health help available. Funds raised went towards the development of Mental Health Awareness in the community and support Suicide Prevention Training. Pre and Post Suicide Intervention Information Packs were created and provided to families in crisis. LMSPN wanted to provide an online platform that’s available 24/7 to anyone in Lake Macquarie who was searching for mental health support, and Connected to Care was born.

We’ve leveraged the meaningful relationships we’ve established over time working with the best mental health professionals, clinicians and support groups in Lake Macquarie and Newcastle. These are people and organisations that we know and trust, who genuinely help people in crisis. We’ve collected helpful information and all their contact details in one place, reducing the time it takes for people to access support.

Interested in opportunities to support LMNSPN’s work? We have a number of options available for individuals, businesses and support services. For more information about how you can support LMNSPN, please contact us

For further information, read our Strategic Plan.

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