A door-to-door mental health and wellbeing survey conducted in Redcliffe has found that a large proportion of people who wanted to seek help in the last 12 months reported that they did not get the care they needed.
In many cases, this was because they were put on a waitlist, or the cost was a barrier.
The Assisting Communities through Direct Connection (ACDC) Project’s People Connectors spoke with and offered information to over 500 householders in Redcliffe, 259 of whom then completed a survey of their experiences with mental health and accessing support.
The report of the survey found that housing, financial stress, and employment were the main challenges facing people in the local community. Most people who engaged with the survey were over 55 years old, and one in five were born outside of Australia.
Bill Gye, CEO of Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA), who manages the ACDC Project, says the findings for Redcliffe show that the community is facing multiple challenges affecting their mental health and wellbeing.
“The survey results indicate that people in Redcliffe are feeling that their communities are experiencing strong challenges and probably under high stress,” said Mr Gye.
The People Connectors from Stride Mental Health, who partnered with CMHA, went door to door between January and April 2022.
Nearly one-third of householders reported that they were currently living with a mental health issue (with nearly all having a formal diagnosis). A very high percentage of people in Redcliffe reported that they were diagnosed or living with mental health issues related to trauma.
Tristan Brownson, from Stride Mental Health and Line Manager for the ACDC Project in Redcliffe, said she was not surprised that waitlists and costs were a barrier for people accessing mental health services.
“I am hopeful that the survey results may lead to funding for services in the Redcliffe area, as there are currently too few services for the needs of the community, as indicated by survey results. I also believe that if this project had been completed more recently, there may be more concern around climate change given the recent South Eastern Queensland floods.”
People Connectors spoke with householders about their mental health and wellbeing and distributed information about the free support services available in their area.
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 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 in late 2022.
The ACDC Project is funded by the Department of Social Services (DSS).
> For the full findings and Community Report from the Redcliffe CLICK HERE
For more information about the ACDC Project go to www.acdc.org.au
-END-