we are solis
A capacity-building, support & resource network for culture-oriented mental health advocates & practitioners.
We are community and Lived Experience-led.
We are stronger together
olis is a collective and specifically a for-purpose cooperative where we lean on each other when we need, in order to make the world a better place through walking alongside diverse and intersectional folks when they’re going through a hard time mentally, emotionally or psychologically.
We come to the work in our own time but we are trying to rework and reframe capitalist ways of working. We believe in being compensated for our wisdom and our strengths but we don’t believe in expecting the folks we are trying to support to shell out the bucks for this. Instead we leverage power structures within community to build and maintain trust as a community. We walk alongside those that believe in human-rights and social-justice aligned values and principles but also those who are willing to be brave enough to reflect on how proximal they are to dominant systems and structures and what they can do to move toward meaningful, foundational connections that break these down.
We’re co-chaired by a Lived Expertise advocate and a Clinical Neuropsychologist and are made up of members from a plethora of disciplines, backgrounds and lenses because we believe in breaking down inherent power structures and reworking dominant, western, colonial systems that are rife with silos (thus we’re the opposite – Solis!). We believe communities have strength and innate wisdom that have the potential to unearth these systems and pave a way for true systemic change.
Some of our recent successes include:
Establishing the Australian Institute for Diversity in Mental Health (AIDMH) to to influence systemic cultural humility and responsiveness
Continuing to build our Culture x Mental Health Toolkit and directory – drawing inspiration from various mediums worldwide.
Previous Dumplings Against Depression events and celebrations inviting community perspectives on wellbeing and supports
About Us
Who we are
How we navigate complexity
Get Involved with us
You don’t have to carry the load alone.
Join a diverse and intersectional group of advocates and practitioners, share your experiences, and improve multicultural mental health in Australia.
With so many commitments competing for your time, maybe you’re reluctant to add to your plate. Perhaps you’ve been here before. Your heart is in the right place, but you’ve taken on too much and burnt out.
We’re with you. We’ve been there, too, and because of this, we’d like Solis to be different.
We know that life happens and sometimes we say yes, only for our circumstances to change. Just let us know, we’re right there with you. We’re all volunteering our time and energy in this space and sometimes need to hit pause to protect our own well-being. Moreover, we believe that your well-being comes before anything else – after all, we can never give from an empty cup.
With that in mind, there are many ways you can be involved, with each requiring a different time commitment. We’re flexible and happy to be led with what works best for you!
Ways to connect with us
Read about what we are about and how we came to be
Read of our collectively-developed Acknowledgement of Privilege
It looks to ensure intersectional responsiveness and humility are at the forefront of our work.
Fill out our Solis Membership Directory form
By registering you will get added to regular meetings, learn about events and projects. We can add you to our WhatsApp 🙂
Join our Linked-in group
Join our Think Tank
Our Think Tank is a community of practice for multicultural (and culture-oriented) mental health advocates, professionals and humans!
As folks who hold roles and positions “both inside and outside the community”, this space is for you to share experiences and resources, to work collaboratively in addressing the silos that exist in this work and to help build each other up as we work toward increased cultural humility in our work.
