About ROC

How Does ROC Work?

We operate on three levels:

MateKeepers Champions – Pledge to be a MateKeeper Champion, letting those around you know that you care about their mental health.
Counselling Service – Help, support and mateship are based on caring and the best most effective caring is given freely, face to face, one-on-one. Our accredited professionals provide a safe, confidential environment for people to talk openly and honestly.
Training – QPR Training is a Suicide Prevention Training that is offered through ROC for free, it teaches 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide.

What Does ROC Do?

Our main objectives are:

Promoting a proactive approach to mental wellbeing within the community
Increasing awareness about the importance of using help-seeking resources
Offering support to those who can’t/won’t present to their GP or other services
Developing confident first responders to be a listening ear
Advocating on two levels of outreach: MateKeepers and Counselling

How Did ROC Come To Be?

David Post, Pat Tripodi and John Harper had been discussing the effectiveness of the kind of informal outreach they had been doing, and the obstacle of having to present for treatment that kept so many people from seeking help. This discussion turned to how they might formalise that informal process of outreach so it was sustainable, and the idea of Rural Outreach Counselling was born.

Where We Service

ROC started the Riverina region of New South Wales and now covers southern NSW and parts of northern Vic. Although the administrative office is based in Wagga Wagga, ROC's focus is to service the smaller towns and communities where there is minimal access to on-the-ground mental health services. All initial contact or service is based on the outreach model of face-to-face, and where possible, in the home.