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Presentation from Sophie Potter, Gail Phelps and Jordan Hammond from ReachOut.Com at the 2013 Online Youth Participation and Engagement conference run by Dialogue Consulting in Melbourne, 9 May 2013
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Beyond ProfessionalsYoung people supporting each other
Sophie Potter Community Manager
Gail Phelps Peer Moderator
Jordan Hammond Peer Moderator
Online Youth Engagement and
Participation Conference: 9th May 2013
Our mission To help young people lead happier lives
1992 19981996
2000 - 2008
Inspire Foundation
1997
2009 - 2012
15years of
It’s always been about young people helping themselves…
1998
1999
2001
2006
2009
2009
But in 2010, we took a long, hard look at which young people we wanted to focus on, and how we needed to position ourselves to achieve this.
So we invited over 100 young people to meet our “users”, map out their needs, and help us redesign the service…
And we ended up with…
Guiding principles: Focus on the benefits to me and my friends; Be relevant to me and my life; Reach out to me in places where I am – both online & offline
User experience goals: RO helps me understand my experience; RO gives me a range of actionable help options; RO shows me results; RO connects me to others; RO helps me help others; RO gives me a range of options to get involved
Brand Values: Authentic; Trustworthy; Positive; Encouraging; Friendly; Inclusive
Design Principles: clean and simple; quick and easy; flexibility in information delivery; flexibility in engagement; creative; consistency
User benefits: Accepted; Confident; Happy; Reassured; Hopeful; Relieved; Motivated; Better than before; More aware of myself
Brand voice: ReachOut is a 25 year old male. He's a good friend and a casual expert. He's easy to understand; Friendly; Honest; Not pushy; Optimistic; Respectful; Empathetic; Fun
Suicide rates aren’t accelerating like they once were, but the mental health system still struggles to meet the needs of young people
The policy context
“A real challenge exists with our mental health services at the moment. They're not easily accessible and we don't have enough professionals, particularly in our regional, rural, remote communities. Technologies provide us with a way of connecting anyone anywhere with a person who can help them.”
Assoc Prof Jane Burns
CEO Young and Well Cooperative
Research Centre (2012)
How can we bridge the gap?
• Reduce the burden on limited services
• Extend accessibility of mental health services
• Improve understanding of mental health difficulties
• Decrease stigma and improve motivation to access services
“Because you can't see it, it's not real. Unless I'm in physical pain, there's no reason to go seek help.”
- ReachOut.com focus group participant
Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add
ReachOut.com is:
An online mental health community where young people can connect, grow and thrive
Accessible 24/7,
wherever they need it
ReachOut.com targets…1. Mental Health Promotion and Universal Prevention;
2. Selective and Indicated Prevention; and
3. Early intervention.
The theory bit
Protective factors, such as:
• Sense of belonging• Adaptive coping strategies
• Help-seeking behaviour• Mental health literacy
How we help: Universal audience
that help young people connect their experiences to those of others
Personal stories
that provide information and knowledge needed to positively manage wellbeing
Articles + fact sheets
that share and build knowledge / skills for building + managing wellbeing
Conversations
where young people participate in campaigns and related activities that raise awareness + increase understanding about mental health
Campaigns + participation
How we help: Selected / indicated audiences
that help young people recognise their problem + increase their understanding
Personal stories + fact sheets
that increase positive attitudes towards help-seeking and the belief that timely / appropriate support can be effective
Stories
that increases participation in a positive social support network, leading to improved self esteem and resilience
Community participation
that helps young people increase self awareness, self monitoring and problem solving skills
How we help: Early intervention
that help young people recognise symptoms + provide actionable help
Personal stories + fact sheets
that increase positive attitudes towards help-seeking and the belief that timely / appropriate support can be effective
Stories
that connect young people with a social support network + link young people seeking help to information and services
Online forums
We know this because…
ReachOut.com helps
1.4 million unique visitors to ReachOut.com in 2011/2012, & 664,332 engaged users = 27% increase on the previous year
Almost 50% of young people we interact with on social channels are young men, those who need us most.
50% of these visits take place after 5pm and before 9am
77% of young people who use ReachOut.com register high or very high levels of psychological distress.
75% of young people who used ReachOut.com in 2011 reported that it helped them to better understand mental health issues
Nearly half (46%) said it helped them ‘quite a bit’ or ‘a lot’ to ask a professional for help.
Where we are:
*
ReachOut.com
Community forums
Social media
• Flagship service
• 14-25 years• 1.4 million
unique visitors (2011/12)
• Facts sheets, personal stories, tools, tips, peer support
• Topics from wellbeing to tough times
• Component of ReachOut.com
• 1255 active members
• Anonymous and private
• Peer support• Discussions
range from wellbeing to tough times
• 17,396 facebook followers
• 5581 twitter followers
• 276 YouTube subscribers (149k views)
• Focus on wellbeing and engagement
IT’S RISKY!!!!!
These conversations are happening with or without us.
For us, the biggest risk is not being there.
Online forums and risk management
• Anonymity and privacy
• Peer-to-peer support
• Clear boundaries re. extent of service
• (Post) moderation by youth moderators and professionals
• Three risk management strategies:• Technical
• Self-moderation
• Staff moderation
Community risk management strategies
TECHNICAL• Register/sign to post• Member accounts display no
person info• Automatic ”alert words or
phrases” notifications• Clear announcements around
extent of service
SELF MODERATION
• Community guidelines – outline positive behaviours and extent of service
• Culture• Feedback from moderators if
guidelines breached• Reporting function for forum
users
PEER/PRO MODs
• Trained peer moderators model positive behaviours
• proactively hide or report Professional moderators respond to distressed young people or difficult content
• Sensitive discussions/topics facilitated by youth workers or mental health professionals
• Clear escalation procedures
Governance/Risk Management Structures
Peer & Pro Mods
Staff Moderators
Support Group
Clinical Advisory Group CEO
Youth ModeratorsReachOut.com
Who are youth moderators, anyway?
• Currently 16 youth moderators across Australia
• All from different backgrounds
• All with a desire to contribute to the youth mental health community
• Each volunteers two hours per week
So, what do youth moderators actually do?
• Contribute to the forums
• Listen to users
• Moderate content and manage risk
• Maintain a positive help seeking culture
But how does having youth moderators actually help?
• Promotes individual experience, but a shared understanding of that experience
• Places young people as the experts
• Provides peer based empathy and support
• Generates positive and constructive conversations
How do youth moderators promote healthy help seeking?
• By providing examples of their own help seeking behaviours
• Using empathy and support to encourage and promote the importance of help seeking
• Providing links to relevant and trustworthy information
• Being community role models
Youth Involvement (YI) at Inspire
• From the beginning, young people were at the centre of everything Inspire does
• Youth mods are part of a wider YI program
• 120 people: RO Film Crew, Youth Editorial Board, ROMP, RO Speakers Bureau etc
• Private online community forum for all involved with our YI programs
Cool stuff that’s happened!
- RUOK? Day- LIFE Awards- ACARA consult
- 315 YP- Mark Butler MP,
Minister for Mental Health
- Two consultations
- Second: 260 replies over 90,000 and 15,000
- First: let’s watch
Young people tell us
“I never thought that a silly post about my feelings on an internet forum could end up being the start to a new change. I have realized that I can recover from this and I thank you so much for pushing me in the right direction. I feel that I will get through this.”
“Veronica”, 19yo, 15th March 2013