Over 20 stakeholders in Fremantle met last week to learn about the Alliance Against Depression framework and how it would work in their community. There was diversity in representation across the four pillars, meeting one of the first recommendations in the AAD Handbook.

The commitment and urgency for a local Alliance was apparent in how everyone came to the table in a supportive and constructive way. Early in the discussions it was identified a local coordinator was needed to get this off the ground.

It was obvious AAD was in line with what most people were already doing. This led to the agreed approach of resourcing the coordinator role as a collective. We saw a commitment to work towards embedding AAD into existing positions at various organisations. Each organisation plans to take turns leading the coordination in 4-6 month blocks.

This is a fantastic example of a local community getting behind the AAD framework. This collaborative attitude will be integral to the future and commitment within Fremantle. The Fremantle community is full off passion, drive and creativity and we can't wait to go on this journey with them.