Just Listening Community:
Volunteer or donate
What?
A free community space creating connection for a person in distress, crisis, suicidal or with an important story to share
A safe, therapeutic environment for people in emotional crisis as a meaningful alternative to other services
Trained community members listening and connecting to the experiences of any person who visits
Ethos
Just Listening ethos:
you are exactly where you need to be for human connection...
...when in distress
...before taking a drug
...before taking action towards ending your own life
...whenever you need, as often as you need
...when reaching out for support
...when reaching in to offer support
towards mutual healing
When?
Open on 27th May 2021
Initial opening times limited to the following:
Thursday: 2:30pm to 7:30pm
Friday: 2:30pm to 7:30pm
Saturday: 4:30pm to 7:30pm
Opening times will expand as funding becomes available.
Where?
29 Shepherd Road,
Christies beach, SA
Why?
To return healing of community back to the community
Community responses are sustainable
Develop community empowerment and to remove inequalities of access to support for a person in crisis
JLC Intentions
01
Emotional
Connection
Just Listening Community (JLC) will support a community to offer an emotional connection to other community members who are in distress and crisis and offer mutuality in as a person needing support and a person offering support
02
JLC will provide a free access environment to seek support when experiencing emotional crisis, distress or suicide, and to support community members as volunteers through training and nurturing - creating a sustainable free service to the people in the local community
03
JLC will be a model that can be replicated and adapted in any and every community towards building the capacity & support one another when experiencing distress, crisis or suicide towards culturally and spiritually safe environments of healing
We are excited to let you know that Suicide Narratives approach will now be available at the Just Listening Community.
Just Listening Community - Christies Beach
Just Listening
Justice to a persons narrative through deep and intentional listening and connection
Matt
Matt Ball is a Nurse Practitioner and Psychotherapist and founder of Humane Clinic. Matt teaches and speaks international on humane approaches to working with a person in distress as an alternative to pathologizing diagnosis led mental health systems.
Matt was awarded Australian Mental Health Nurse of the year in 2017 for his work providing alternatives. His Vision for the JustListening Community draws on lived and professional experiences.
Rory
Rory is a Social Worker and Psychotherapist at the Humane Clinic. He has previous experience in social policy, advocacy, and homelessness services roles, as well as experience of seeking assistance while in emotional distress and being rebuffed, labelled and invalidated.
Rory is passionate about increasing recognition of how environments, systems, and misuses of power fundamentally shape our experiences of ourselves and the world. He is honoured and excited to be a part of the Just Listening Community.
Berny
Berny is a psychotherapist. She has worked in mental health for the past 16 years including facilitating hearing voices groups, therapeutic groups one – one work, activity groups and leadership roles supporting staff, volunteers and students.
Berny has extensive experience supporting people who experience extreme states, voices, visions and alternative realities and has completed significant training in trauma based models and practices and has contributed to the development and delivery of models such as Suicide Narratives, Just Listening and Hearing Voices.
In 2020 she graduated from the Psychotherapy certificate at Humane clinic and is part of the teaching team delivering workshops on Just Listening, Hearing Voices and Suicide Narratives.
Connecting emotionally with others allows us to feel deeply listened to.
We can then begin to understand our common emotional distress and find hope and meaning in mutuality
