Persistent and Lithium Help SANE Deliver Online Communities for Australians Affected by Mental Illness

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Jan 28, 2015, 10:05 ET

SYDNEY, SAN FRANCISCO and PUNE, India, January 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Mental illness no longer needs to be an isolating and debilitating experience. Persistent Systems (BSE & NSE: PERSISTENT) and Lithium Technologies recently collaborated to help SANE Australia develop and launch its online communities to enable peer-to-peer support for both those experiencing mental illness and those who care for them.

Persistent Logo (PRNewsFoto/Persistent Systems)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141106/714346)

SANE Australia is a national non-governmental organization (NGO) conducting innovative programs and campaigns to help people affected by mental illness lead a better life. Around 1 in 5 experience mental health problems annually and approximately 2,000 Australians die by suicide every year. With funding from the Australian Department of Health, SANE rolled out SANE Communities, which provide peer support as well as access to services provided by SANE in partnership with mental health organizations around the country.

SANE Australia CEO, Jack Heath

"The suicide rate in Australia remains unacceptably high, with mental health issues impacting far too many of our fellow citizens and the people who love them. For almost 30 years, SANE has been committed to helping people in need as they grapple with these conditions. But how we reach people is fundamentally different than 30 years ago. In Australia, we have our own unique challenges to help all of our citizens - our sheer vastness can create a sense of isolation for people - so we continue to look at new ways to create community so people feel they are not alone. Lithium and Persistent have helped us with our digital approach, using software to help drive our mission."

SANE Communities - Digitally Transforming Mental Health Care

In August 2014, in collaboration with Persistent Systems and Lithium, SANE Australia launched SANE Communities to provide online peer support to both those suffering from mental health issues and those caring for them. The communities operate under a Duty of Care framework, which ensures:

They will be moderated and anonymous
Comments will go live right away when moderators are available to view comments as they are posted
Ensure community is respectful and safe and doesn't reveal personal informational about themselves or contravene law
Facilitates direction to help assist positive outcomes

The communities encourage community members to:

Feel supported
Create and maintain relationships with each other
Navigate experience with health services
Relate their stories
Get some helpful distance / perspective from their own experience
Support healthy behavior and encourage seeking help

SANE Director of Digital Service Design and Technology, Faruk Avdi

"Applying digital skills to such a great cause is something most people dream about. It hasn't always been easy, but Lithium and Persistent have been great partners. Lithium provides the best software platform for our needs and the business flexibility for us to create a distributed solution, which was crucial to our success. Lithium has been extremely generous in their ongoing support of SANE Australia. Persistent was an invaluable partner in helping us configure various aspects of Lithium and build a great experience. Their project manager, technical lead and technical support teams were outstanding."

Vice President Social Practice at Persistent Systems, Ashish Seth

"Working with Lithium and many joint customers, we know what it takes to design and structure communities so that they come to life. This one felt particularly special because of the community involved, to truly bring social software to improve the quality of life. SANE has a noble mission and a strong vision to get there."

About Persistent Systems:

Persistent Systems (BSE & NSE: PERSISTENT) builds software that drives the business of our customers; enterprises and software product companies with software at the core of their digital transformation.

Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements: For risks and uncertainties relating to forward-looking statements, please visit:

http://content.persistent.com/Pslweb/forward_looking_cautionary_statement.shtml

About Lithium | Klout:

Lithium builds trusted relationships between the world's best brands and their customers, helping people get answers and share their experiences. Customers in more than 34 countries rely on Lithium to help them connect, engage, and understand their total community. With more than 100 million unique monthly visitors over all Lithium communities and another 600 million online profiles scored by Klout, Lithium has one of the largest digital footprints in the world. Using that data and the company's software, Lithium customers boost sales, reduce service costs, spark innovation, and build long-term brand loyalty and advocacy. To find out how Lithium can transform your business and to share the experience enjoyed by 300 other leading brands around the world, visit http://www.lithium.com, join our community at community.lithium.com, or follow us on Twitter @LithiumTech. Lithium is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco.

The Lithium® logo is a registered Service Mark of Lithium Technologies. All trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.

About SANE Australia

SANE Australia is a national not-for-profit organization helping Australians affected by mental illness lead a better life - through support, training, and education.

Media Contacts:

Dr. Paul Morgan
SANE
Tel: +61-9682-5933
[email protected]

Ken Montgomery
Persistent Systems
Tel: +1-949-939-5164
[email protected]

Francisca Fanucchi
Lithium Technologies
Tel: +1+415-757-3116
[email protected]

SOURCE Persistent Systems