A new community project goes door to door to talk about mental health
2 June 2021 at 3:43 pm
With the impacts of the pandemic still rippling through Australia, the Assisting Communities through Direct Connection (ACDC) project is checking in with locals
An initiative of Community Mental Health Australia is being rolled out across 24 different communities with the aim of getting people talking about their mental health.
The Assisting Communities through Direct Connection (ACDC) project is currently underway across NSW, QLD and the ACT with teams of “people connectors” going door-to-door talking to the local community, and connecting them with mental health services they might need.
The CEO of Community Mental Health Australia, Bill Gye, said that the project was tackling the fact that a lot of people don’t want to talk, or even think about, their mental health.
“People may prefer to tough it out, hide it from others, or avoid the stigma,” Gye said.
“ACDC is going directly to households in Australia to engage them in conversation about these important issues.”
Through the project, households will receive information packs and brochures laying out all local and online services available for support.
ACDC project manager James McKechnie said that having someone knock on your door and start a conversation around mental health could make a real difference.
“It means that people who may not have received help previously and would now like to will be supported to do so,” McKechnie said.
Providing government feedback
The other aim of the project is to gather feedback on any mental health service gaps so that improvements can be made by local, state, and federal governments.
“The findings of the ACDC Project and [its] evaluation report will contribute to important discussions about funding for community-managed mental health services in Australia,” McKechnie said.
“As well as how the mental health support needs of people in communities are delivered moving forward.”
