Neil Barringham: A Place to Belong

Neil Barringham and Sullen Welch have been working in community inclusion at A Place to Belong in West End, Brisbane. Neil first started learning about community inclusion in the disability realm when he and his wife became more involved in their community and shared their home with a few people who were working through the recovery process. From this, Neil saw the power of ordinary, simple friendship connections. He is passionate about sharing this insight across the sector and seeking to inspire people to keep a community vision alive.

Neil has been running training in mental health for over ten years. Neil has postgraduate qualifications in community development, management and social work. Suellen Welch has long believed in the importance of community and the need to work intentionally to build, grow and sustain healthy communities that are welcoming for everyone. She is passionate about the power of personal stories and working to give voice to people whose stories are often 'silenced'. Suellen works as a community inclusion worker and is very happy to be working locally at A Place To Belong (APTB). Mum to three children (5-16 years old), Suellen also works at Community Resource Unit (CRU).