Lived Experience refers to the personal knowledge gained through direct life challenges—such as mental health, trauma, homelessness, or family hardship.
At Anglicare WA, we honour this experience as a powerful form of expertise.
Why It Matters
People with Lived Experience bring empathy, insight, and hope to those facing similar challenges. Their voices help shape better services and foster recovery-oriented, person-centred care.
Our Commitment
We are committed to:
- Embedding Lived Experience across all levels of our organisation
- Creating psychologically safe and inclusive workplaces
- Supporting designated Lived Experience roles and peer workers
- Ensuring meaningful participation in service design and decision-making
A Lived Experience (Peer) workforce
A Lived Experience (Peer) workforce within Anglicare WA strengthens its diversity, competence and skill set available as a resource to its existing and potential community.
Our Lived Experience workforce is recovery-oriented and amplifies hope. Workers in Lived Experience (Peer) designated roles, purposefully and professionally utilise their Lived Experience and Lived Expertise to deliver outcomes. This requires courage, vulnerability, and deep levels of self-awareness. We believe people who have navigated adverse life experiences are uniquely placed to walk alongside those experiencing similar challenges providing a beacon of hope within their recovery journey.
Anglicare WA’s Lived Experience workforce will be nurtured, guided, and strengthened through the following principles:
- Connection: Designated Lived Experience workers hold a space for exploration and discovery in the relationship
- Diversity: Respect for individual approaches to wellbeing
- Mutuality: It’s the ability to know where you are at and the ability to meet people where they are at
- Human Rights: Lived Experience workers advocate for a socially just world
- Authenticity: Asking what has happened to you, not what’s wrong with you
- Humanity: Having compassion for others is grounded in being compassionate towards yourself
Anglicare’s Lived Experience Framework document is available here
