Local Connections – a social prescribing trial was co-designed and delivered in six Victorian Mental Health and Wellbeing Local Services. In the last three years, this social prescribing initiative has been adapted to place and continued to build on and reflect the strengths of lived and living experiences at the heart of design and delivery of services. This includes having link worker roles as designated lived experience roles. Local Connections has contributed to understandings of how mental health and wellbeing services can reform to work differently and in partnership with communities, to strengthen social connections and reduce loneliness and social isolation. This includes working with individuals, groups and communities. The presentation will talk about the advocacy required within mental health and wellbeing services for non-clinical supports to be equally valued and how change is possible within services and communities. December 2025 will be the end of the funded trial. Despite the trial coming to an end, the learning and practice will be used to support mental health and wellbeing services to continue and strengthen social connection and social prescribing practice. This presentation will draw on the learnings from the evaluation and importantly, include a panel to hear directly from the experience of link workers and social prescribing leads.