A new door-to-door mental health and wellbeing survey has found that 40% of all respondents surveyed wanted to seek help for their mental health in the last 12 months, however, 60% of these people did not get the care they needed. The primary reason for not seeking help was cost of services.
The Assisting Communities through Direct Connection (ACDC) Project’s People Connectors spoke with and offered information to 549 householders in the City of Swan, 160 of whom then completed a survey of their experiences with mental health and accessing support.
The survey found that climate change was the primary concern for householders in the City of Swan.
Bill Gye, CEO of Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA), who manages the ACDC Project, says the rate of high and very high emotional distress was twice the national average which is a real concern.
“Data from the individual stories are showing how tough some people and families are doing. Innovative ways can assist families in challenging circumstances, but these innovative methods need the support from funders and Government planners to provide the resources necessary,” said Mr Gye.
People Connectors from HelpingMinds, who partnered with CMHA, went door-to-door between May 2022 and August 2022.
Danielle Moore, from HelpingMinds and manager for the ACDC Project in the City of Swan, says that this Project has highlighted to service providers the importance of connecting with the local community and how providers share information about services to reach those who need it most.
“This Project demonstrates once initial trust has been established at the door, people are generally willing to talk about their wellbeing. People Connectors were able to offer both anonymity and confidentiality that gives people a safe space and the opportunity to share things that they might not even disclose to family and friends. People Connectors spoke with householders about their mental health and wellbeing and distributed information about free support services available in their area,” said Ms Moore.
The ACDC Project has been implemented in communities across all states and territories in Australia to improve wellbeing and collect important data with the assistance of the Centre for Social Impact.
The final report of the ACDC Project, along with recommendations for how the sector can better meet the needs of communities, is scheduled to be released at the beginning of next year.
The ACDC Project is funded by the Department of Social Services (DSS).
> For the Community Report from the City of Swan CLICK HERE
For more information about the ACDC Project go to www.acdc.org.au
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