An innovative door-to-door mental health and wellbeing survey has found that householders from Dandenong and Dandenong North indicated that the primary barrier to contacting services was not feeling unwell enough to seek help.
The Assisting Communities through Direct Connection (ACDC) Project’s People Connectors spoke with and offered information to nearly 1,206 householders in Dandenong and Dandenong North, 294 of whom then completed a survey of their experiences with mental health and accessing support.
The report of the survey found that 18% of respondents said they didn’t know where to get help. For those who did find help, 15% of respondents were not satisfied with the quality of the service they received.
Bill Gye, CEO of Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA), who manages the ACDC Project, says the ACDC Project data shows that many people living in this culturally and linguistically diverse area are experiencing significantly above national average levels of stress and distress.
“The downstream personal, social, and economic costs of not addressing these barriers and access to services as early as possible are huge. While some supports and services are available, by going out into the community and talking with people at their front door, we can see why these are often not accessed or adequate and where the gaps are,” said Mr Gye.
Of the householders surveyed:
- 4% of respondents identified as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 73% of respondents were born outside of Australia
- 9% of respondents reported a disability
- 7% of respondents spoke a language other than English at home
- 1% of respondents provided care for someone with disability, chronic condition, or mental health issue
People Connectors from the Dandenong Community & Learning Centre, who partnered with CMHA, went door-to-door between May and October 2023. They spoke with householders about their mental health and wellbeing and distributed information about the free support services available in their area.
The top three issues of concern for householders were:
- 19% – Housing
- 16% – Financial Stress
- 12% – Climate Change
Additionally, 36% combined reported being worried about their housing or living conditions.
In terms of digital infrastructure, 16% reported having limited or no access to a computer or other device, and 23% experienced barriers to or no access to telehealth services.
Merina Ashdown, General Manager of the Dandenong Community & Learning Centre and Manager for the ACDC Project in Dandenong, says the Dandenong community would benefit from receiving more support for their mental health and wellbeing.
“The key to working with the community is having champions from the CALD community on board and working alongside the mental health service providers, as the community has the utmost trust in their community leaders.”
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 Dandenong 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).