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

1. BeyondProfessionalsYoungpeoplesupportingeachother
Sophie Potter Community Manager
Gail Phelps Peer Moderator
Jordan Hammond Peer Moderator
Online Youth Engagement and
Participation Conference: 9th May 2013

2. OurmissionTohelpyoung
peopleleadhappierlives

3. 1992 19981996
2000 - 2008
Inspire Foundation
1997
2009 - 2012

4. 15years
of

5. It‟s always been about young people
helping themselves…

6. 1998

7. 1999

8. 2001

9. 2006

10. 2009

11. 2009

12. Butin2010,wetooka
long,hardlookat
whichyoung people
wewantedtofocus
on,andhowwe
neededtoposition
ourselvestoachieve
this.

13. Soweinvitedover100young peopletomeetour“users”,
mapouttheirneeds,andhelpusredesigntheservice…

15. And we ended up with…
Guidingprinciples: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
Userexperiencegoals: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
BrandValues:Authentic; Trustworthy; Positive; Encouraging; Friendly;
Inclusive
DesignPrinciples:clean and simple; quick and easy; flexibility in
information delivery; flexibility in engagement; creative; consistency
Userbenefits:Accepted; Confident; Happy; Reassured; Hopeful;
Relieved; Motivated; Better than before; More aware of myself
Brandvoice: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

17. Suicideratesaren‟tacceleratinglikethey
oncewere,butthementalhealthsystem
stillstrugglestomeettheneedsofyoung
people

18. The policy context
“Areal challenge exists withour mental health services
at the moment. They're not easily accessible and we
don't have enough professionals, particularly inour
regional, rural, remote communities. Technologies
provide us withaway of connecting anyone anywhere
withaperson whocan help them.”
AssocProfJaneBurns
CEOYoungandWellCooperative
ResearchCentre(2012)

19. How can we bridge the gap?
• Reducetheburdenon
limitedservices
• Extendaccessibilityof
mentalhealthservices
• Improveunderstandingof
mentalhealthdifficulties
• Decreasestigmaand
improvemotivationto
accessservices
“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

21. ReachOut.com is:
Anonlinementalhealth
communitywhereyoung
peoplecanconnect,grow
andthrive
Accessible24/7,
wherevertheyneedit

22. ReachOut.comtargets…
1. Mental Health Promotion and Universal Prevention;
2. Selective and Indicated Prevention; and
3. Early intervention.
The theory bit

23. Protectivefactors,suchas:
• Sense of belonging
• Adaptive coping strategies
• Help-seeking behaviour
• Mental health literacy

24. How we help: Universal audience
thathelpyoungpeopleconnecttheir
experiencestothoseofothers
Personal stories
thatprovideinformationandknowledge
neededtopositivelymanagewellbeing
Articles + fact
sheets
thatshareandbuildknowledge/skillsfor
building+managingwellbeing
Conversations
whereyoungpeopleparticipatein
campaignsandrelatedactivitiesthatraise
awareness+increaseunderstanding
aboutmentalhealth
Campaigns +
participation

25. How we help: Selected / indicated audiences
thathelpyoungpeoplerecognisetheir
problem+increasetheirunderstanding
Personal stories +
fact sheets
thatincreasepositiveattitudestowards
help-seekingandthebeliefthattimely/
appropriatesupportcanbeeffective
Stories
thatincreasesparticipationinapositive
socialsupportnetwork,leadingtoimproved
selfesteemandresilience
Community
participation
thathelpsyoungpeopleincreaseself
awareness,selfmonitoringandproblem
solvingskills

26. How we help: Early intervention
thathelpyoungpeoplerecognise
symptoms+provideactionablehelp
Personal stories +
fact sheets
thatincreasepositiveattitudestowards
help-seekingandthebeliefthattimely/
appropriatesupportcanbeeffective
Stories
thatconnectyoungpeoplewithasocial
supportnetwork+linkyoungpeople
seekinghelptoinformationandservices
Online forums

27. Weknowthisbecause…
ReachOut.comhelps

28. 1.4millionuniquevisitorstoReachOut.comin2011/2012,&664,332
engagedusers=27%increaseontheprevious year
Almost50%ofyoungpeopleweinteractwithonsocialchannelsare
youngmen,thosewhoneedusmost.
50%ofthesevisitstakeplaceafter5pmandbefore9am
77%ofyoungpeoplewhouseReachOut.comregisterhighorveryhigh
levelsofpsychologicaldistress.
75%ofyoungpeoplewhousedReachOut.comin2011reportedthatit
helpedthemtobetterunderstandmentalhealthissues
Nearlyhalf(46%)saidithelpedthem„quiteabit‟or„alot‟toaska
professionalforhelp.

29. 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

31. IT‟S
RISKY!!!!!
These conversations
are happening with
or without us.
For us, the
biggest risk
is not being
there.

32. 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

33. 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

34. Governance/Risk Management Structures
Peer & Pro Mods
Staff Moderators
Support Group
Clinical Advisory
Group
CEO

35. Youth
Moderators
ReachOut.com

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

42. 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

43. 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