A door-to-door mental health and wellbeing survey in Westmead, Wentworthville and South Wentworthville has found that nearly two in five householders reported worrying about their housing and living conditions.
The Assisting Communities through Direct Connection (ACDC) Project’s People Connectors spoke with and offered information to 1,544 householders in Cumberland, who then completed a survey of their experiences with mental health and accessing support.
The top three issues of concern for householders were:
- 22% – Housing
- 14% – Climate change
- 10% – Financial stress
Of the householders surveyed:
- 4% of respondents were born outside of Australia
- 31% of respondents who wanted to seek help in the last 12 months, 28% did not get the care they needed
Bill Gye, CEO of Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA), who manages the ACDC Project, says the major factor that stopped people in Cumberland accessing support was that they believed they were not unwell enough.
“This is consistent with other research showing that for many people, particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, that mental health is something that happens to other people and is seen as something to be embarrassed or ashamed about. People think that you should only seek help when things are very bad or at crisis point – which is what we don’t want,” said Mr Gye.
People Connectors from Psychcentral, who partnered with CMHA, went door-to-door between August 2023 and March 2024. They spoke with householders about their mental health and wellbeing and distributed information about the free support services available in their area.
The report highlights the need for significantly improved promotion to specific communities about the value of general mental health and wellbeing.
“Such promotion needs to communicate in a culturally appropriate way that mental health, like physical health, is something that affects everyone. It is a positive and responsible step to get support at an early stage, both for prevention of mental ill-health and for the development and maintenance of positive mental health and wellbeing,” said Mr Gye.
In terms of support needs, the householders surveyed said their preferences included talking to a professional face-to-face (50%) and talking to others who have had the same experiences or peer support (38%).
The ACDC Project is being implemented in communities across all states and territories of Australia to improve wellbeing and collect important data with the assistance of the Centre for Social Impact. The advantage to local communities arises not only from this preventative intervention but also from the collection and reporting of data on unmet mental health and wellbeing needs, that can and will be useful for local service planning.
To access the full Cumberland Community Report CLICK HERE
To learn more about the ACDC Project, please visit acdc.org.au
The ACDC Project is funded by the Department of Social Services (DSS).