About Systarah Services

Welcome to the heart of Systarah Services.

Here, you'll discover our story, our values, and our commitment to building resilient, compassionate communities. 

Our Story

Systarah Services was founded by Helen Munn in 2025.  Helen has dedicated herself to supporting social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) initiatives since 2015, through her studies, volunteering, and professional work. In recent years, she has been especially passionate about mental health and suicide prevention community development work, striving to make a positive impact in this important area.

 

During her journey, Helen has noticed an encouraging increase in community-led mental health and suicide prevention initiatives. However, she also recognised that some public activities can unintentionally create risks if they are not carefully designed and implemented. This can happen due to several reasons:

  • Australia currently lacks national codes of practice and standards, and there are gaps in suicide prevention terminology.
  • There is also a noticeable gap in academic training, with only one of the 1,484 subjects offered across 33 Australian universities’ social work programmes specifically dedicated to suicide prevention (Pryor, Wayland and Maple’s 2023).
  • The mental health and suicide prevention sector experiences high staff turnover, and peer workers are taking on suicide prevention community development roles.

 

These factors can pose challenges when planning, implementing. and delivering community initiatives related to SEWB. That’s where Systarah Services comes in. Helen is keen to work alongside community groups and organisations to identify their needs;  and wherever possible, bridge gaps to build safer and more supportive spaces for everyone.

Systarah Services: our 'special sauce'

What sets Systarah Services apart is the ability to see the world through a unique lens.

This supports forging connections and listening for the silent voices.

The services are all informed by the founder's lived experiences, and academic and professional backgrounds. This enables her to:

  • Navigate the ‘evidence to practice gap’ to support community development and influence community activities to foster social and emotional wellbeing.
  • Traverse cultural interfaces including with First Nation and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse peoples; people living with disabilities; those exposed to DFV;  people with lived and living experience of mental health concerns and/or of suicide.
  • Provide pathways to connect people, build capacity, and foster a kinder and more resilient community.

Connect, Empower, Inspire

Helen Munn

Helen acknowledges her own complex Aboriginal ancestry, and respects the influence it has played in her life decisions. The name 'Systarah'  was created to reflect her belief of the importance of 'connected systems'; whether its environmental, social, technical or spiritual. It was created by combining two words:

  • 'Systems' to recognise the human and natural processes that are continually evolving and influencing our activities, health and wellbeing.
  • 'Ara' to represent an altar, a place of special significance; where we celebrate the connections between our earth, each other, and the plants and animals that share our world.
  • The 'h' is for Helen. 

Our Ideal Clients

We strive to collaborate with those who share our passion for building stronger, more resilient communities and our commitment to evidence-informed best practice.  Our ideal clients include:

  • Government funders seeking to invest in impactful social and community-based programs.
  • Social, emotional wellbeing and environmental organisations dedicated to serving our communities.
  • Community groups and individuals working at the grassroots level to create positive change.

"The vision of Systarah Services is to provide pathways that connect people, develop communities, and inspire a kinder, more resilient society for generations to come." 

Helen Munn - founder