Executive summary

This report aims to shine a light on the everyday lives of regional, rural and remote (rural) young people, their strengths and challenges, their mental health, and the impact ReachOut has in improving their mental health and wellbeing. Using evaluative research conducted between 2017 and 2021, we look at changes over time, drawing comparisons with similar research conducted in 2017 and shared in the Lifting the Weight report (1). This allows us to assess the effectiveness of ReachOut’s new tailored and targeted approach to supporting this underserved population over the past five years, enabled by dedicated, sustained funding from Future Generation Global (FGG). We also look to the future, highlighting why we need ReachOut now more than ever to continue to support rural young people and what more we can do to help them manage and improve their mental health and break down the barriers that prevent them from seeking help.

UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES

AND EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES

The findings from this evaluation paint a picture of struggle, resilience and opportunity. Significant challenges over the last five years have included drought, natural disasters and a global pandemic, all of which have impacted the mental health of rural young people. Over the period, we found an increase in probable serious mental illness among rural young people (from 20.9 per cent in Year 1 to 27 per cent in Year 5, with a peak of 37 per cent of 18–19 year-olds). With these challenges, and the wellknown concerns about employment prospects and educational opportunities in rural Australia, it is perhaps unsurprising that we also found a significant increase in the proportion of rural young people stressed about the future (from 15.2 per cent in Year 1 to 33.3 per cent in Year 5).

These are alarming figures that reinforce the need to focus on rural populations as a priority for mental health services. There are, however, also many positive signs that suggest rural communities are fertile grounds for investment and that increased access to properly tailored services would deliver improved mental health outcomes.

We are greatly encouraged that rural young people’s mental health literacy is improving, with growing awareness of support services, such as ReachOut. Following five years of investment in tailoring and targeting services to rural young people, we’re pleased to see a significant increase in ReachOut brand awareness among rural young people, (from 19.3 per cent in Year 1 to 30.1 per cent in Year 5). At a time when there are positive shifts in attitudes towards help-seeking and more young people report that they have accessed mental health support, ReachOut is well positioned to be a go-to first service for young people as their expressed service preferences have seen a significant shift towards online services (from 20.9 per cent willing to access online services in Year 1 to 53.2 per cent in Year 5 – by far the largest increase among delivery modes).