Overview
The Karratha Step Up/Step Down Service is a 28-day mental health recovery support service for people in the Pilbara experiencing mental health challenges. We offer six individual home-like units and a team of dedicated mental health professionals providing 24/7 care.
When ‘stepping down’ from a hospital admission, we provide support to help you return home and feel confident about managing your mental health.
When ‘stepping up’ from home, we support you to manage a decline in your mental health while remaining in your community. We can help you build coping strategies to avoid going to hospital when you are becoming unwell.
Working closely with the local community, we have created a welcoming, culturally safe space for everyone. We embrace the diverse and unique needs of each person so we can better support your mental health recovery and wellbeing.
Person and place-centred service
To develop this service, we engaged with the community in Karratha to look at how to create a culturally safe space for both residents and staff; one that respects and reflects First Nations Peoples’ ways of knowing, being and doing. We looked at the whole service model to adapt the service to local strengths and the needs of the place.
We also held a series of intensive consultation sessions in Karratha, Roebourne and South Hedland, with local Aboriginal Elders, service providers and the broader community. As one voice, they described what people in the Pilbara needed for the service to be responsive, purposeful and connected to community. These consultation sessions provided valuable information and deeply personal stories that have helped us to shape both the service model design and the physical environment.
Who do we support?
We welcome people from all backgrounds, recognising that every recovery journey is unique. You are the expert in your own life, and we are here to work alongside you on your journey.
The service is available for people aged 18 and over, living in Karratha and the Pilbara region, with a mental health diagnosis that does not require, or no longer requires, hospital treatment. Referrals for people aged 16-17 or over 64 will be considered on an individual basis.
How does it work?
The Karratha Step Up/Step Down Service provides a range of holistic supports so you can understand more about yourself and what a meaningful life looks like for you.
Staff, residents and support people work together to create a safe space to help you reach your wellbeing and recovery goals.
All residents in the service join our core recovery program: Roadmap to Recovery. You will be allocated a key worker who will work with you to identify your recovery goals and develop a plan alongside you. In addition, we offer a range of activities and groups based on residents’ interests. This may include:
- cooking and meal preparation
- mindfulness
- creative expression
- healing through music
