When launched in March 1998, ReachOut.com was the world’s first online metal health service for young people Source. The website was developed by the Inspire Foundation Source, now called ReachOut Australia, to prevent youth suicide by providing an online support platform for adolescents and young people.
Funding for the project was initially crowd sourced through Australian radio station Triple J’s ‘Real Appeal’ programme, which managed to raise AUD$180,000 from over 7,000 donations Source. As a youth-led initiative designed for, and by, young people, ReachOut has extensively involved young people in the design and implementation of its services, which includes the organization’s permanent youth advisory board.
ReachOut.com provides various ways for adolescents and young people to anonymously talk to mental health support workers, as well as ways to contact emergency crisis and support services, such as Lifeline and the Kids Helpline.
2022 rebranding and campaign
In September 2022, ReachOut underwent a rebrand, which changed the organization’s visual identity and range of mental health support services.
The rebrand was launched alongside a multi-channel awareness campaign, targeting adolescents and young people travelling to and from school or university Source. A 30 second video was developed and displayed on TV and social media, with messaging later adapted to be included in posters and audio ads. As part of the rebrand, ReachOut co-developed a new slogan with young people: “Helping young people feel better.”
“Conversations and community are at the heart of what we do at ReachOut and how we support all young people to feel better. Our rebrand and new campaign have been developed to help us reach more of the people we know we can make the biggest difference to.”
Julie Faktor, Yonder Creative Director [Source:ReachOut
The new ReachOut website
The new ReachOut website consists of four main sections, three for its primary audiences: young people, parents/carers and schools, and one section dedicated to ‘about us’. All website sections are optimized for use on mobile devices and contain multiple interactive components, each designed to increase engagement from adolescents and young people.
Current services
PeerChat
Lunched in 2022, PeerChat acts as a anonymous space where young people can connect with trained peer workers through online text chat to discuss and share their challenges and experiences with mental health. The service is primarily for young people aged between 18 – 25.
NextStep
NextStep is an anonymous personalized support chat bot that provides mental health support and information based on user queries. The service was lunched in 2016 to “address the persistently low rates of service access by young people” Source, and is currently available on ReachOut.com.
ReachOut Online Community (forum)
The ReachOut Online Community is an online forum that encourages young people, parents and carers to share their experience with mental health and support one another. The forum contains a number of specific support spaces, including ‘Working things out’, ‘Looking after myself and others’ and ‘life stuff’. The spaces include various topics of interest to young people, covering topics such as friendships, drugs and alcohol, and games.
Campaign examples
Video stories
ReachOut.com and the ReachOut YouTube channel feature a series of videos of young people discussing how they experienced mental health issues and how they manage these challenges.
#YoungerSelf Campaign
Based on a similar campaign in the US by the Child Mind Institute, in 2018 ReachOut launched its #YoungerSelf campaign. The campaign includes short video blurbs from Australian celebrities sharing the one piece of advice they wish they could have told their younger selves. Videos appeared on YouTube and across ReachOut social media channels.
Laps for Lifecampaign
Laps for Life is a month-long swimming challenge fundraising event which takes place every March. Participants are encouraged to swim (in a pool or in the ocean) in order to raise funds in support of young people living with mental health challenges.
In March 2023, roughly 10,000 participants took part, raising $3.8 million for ReachOut, which represents a return on investment of 4.2:1 Source.
Adolescents 360 (A360) is a multi-year project aiming to increase sexual and reproductive health among adolescent girls in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania.
Tayyari Jeet Ki
Physical and
mental health
India
2022
‘Tayyari Jeet Ki’ (English: ‘Preparing To Win’) is a 360-degree advertizing campaign aiming to raise awareness of childrens’ mental and emotional health issues in India.
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