About Youthbeyondblue

beyondblue: the national depression initiative

beyondblue is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation working to address issues associated with depression, anxiety and related substance misuse disorders in Australia. beyondblue works in partnership with government agencies, health services, schools, workplaces, universities, media and community organisations, as well as people living with depression, to bring together their expertise around depression. beyondblue has five priorities:

  1. Community awareness and destigmatisation
  2. Consumers and carer participation
  3. Prevention and early intervention
  4. Primary care
  5. Targeted research

Youthbeyondblue

Youthbeyondblue is the arm of beyondblue that has a specific focus on young people aged 12 to 25 years.  Youthbeyondblue programs and projects centre on early intervention and prevention of high prevalence mental health problems for young people and also on raising community awareness.  Youthbeyondblue’s key messages are:

  • Look for the signs of depression
  • Listen to your friends’ experiences
  • Talk about what’s going on and
  • Seek Help Together!

Youthbeyondblue is all about getting the message out that it’s okay to talk about depression, and to encourage young people and their family members and friends to get help when it’s needed.

Our programs and projects

beyondblue and Youthbeyondblue are involved in a wide range of projects and programs for young people.

Partnering with organisers of festivals and events to raise awareness of depression and anxiety

National Youth Week www.youthweek.com
National Youth Week is the largest celebration of young people in Australia. National Youth Week is proudly supported in every state and territory, and nationally, by Youthbeyondblue. We encourage thousands of young people across Australia to become involved in National Youth Week each year, through local community activities that raise awareness of depression and anxiety.

Wakakirri www.wakakirri.com
Wakakirri is a national performing and visual arts festival, where schools create stories using dance, song, film, arts and writing. It is free to enter, and is Australia’s largest arts festival for schools, involving over 30,000 students in every state and territory. Youthbeyondblue supports the Wakakirri Outback Festivals which are held in nine outback communities around Australia and involve professional artists working with remote Indigenous schools to create stories on film. beyondblue is also the major partner of the Wakakirri City and Country Festival that works with primary schools to develop performance extravaganzas across Australia.

Vibe Alive www.vibe.com.au
Vibe Alive encompasses five two-day education and performance festivals for young Australians.  The events encourage young people to complete their education, lead a healthy and drug-free lifestyle and promote tolerance and teamwork.  Vibe Alive also celebrates being a proud Australian along with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.  Every school in Australia is sent an invitation to attend the festival and beyondblue is again proudly supporting the five Vibe Alive Festivals in 2010.

Deadly Days www.deadlydays.net
The Deadly Days Festivals are part of the Australian Government’s Community Festivals for Education Engagement initiative and are hosted by North Coast Aboriginal Learning Partnerships of North Coast TAFE.  These festivals aim to increase education, employment and training opportunities for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and also promote positive and healthy lifestyles.

Streets Alive www.streetsalive.com.au
Streets Alive operates as part of the prestigious National Regional Arts Conference. The event aims to provide quality arts opportunities and experiences for young Tasmanian people aged five to 29 within a festival framework.  In 2010, Streets Alive is partnering with beyondblue for the first time, to raise awareness of depression and anxiety.

Rock Eisteddfod Challenge www.rockchallenge.com.au
beyondblue has supported the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge since 2003. The Rock Eisteddfod is Australia’s biggest and longest-running youth performing arts and health promotion event. The Rock Eisteddfod Challenge is successful in engaging young people from all around Australia, raising awareness of depression and anxiety among the participants and the wider community. Although the challenge will not be taking place in 2010, it is planned to resume in 2011.

VicMoves www.vicmoves.com.au
VicMoves is a new dance and performance program for secondary school students in Victoria. beyondblue has partnered with VicMoves in 2010.

Dream Inc. www.dreaminc.com.au
Dream Inc. provides music workshops for talented young people to develop their skills under the mentorship of successful artists.  Youthbeyondblue is again working with the Dream Inc. music workshops to raise awareness of depression and anxiety among participants.

Koori Job Fairs
The Department of Justice in Victoria has organised eight Koori job fairs across Victoria - in Morwell, Lakes Entrance, Mildura, Geelong, Warrnambool, Shepparton, Ballarat and Melbourne - during August and September 2010. Youthbeyondblue is supporting these events for the first time and Indigenous Hip Hop Projects (IHHP) will be performing at each job fair. For more information on the job fairs, contact Travis Lovett at the Victorian Department of Justice on (03) 8684 1765 or travis.lovett @ justice.vic.gov.au.

Working with the community to promote early intervention

Save-A-Mate (SAM) Our Way www.redcross.org.au
The Australian Red Cross, in partnership with beyondblue, has commenced the three year Save-A-Mate (SAM) Our Way Program, aiming to build on the strengths of forty remote Indigenous communities and provide support by addressing key social and emotional well-being issues such as depression and anxiety.

Indigenous Hip Hop Projects (IHHP) www.indigenoushiphop.com
The IHHP group, with the support of beyondblue, tours Australia working predominantly with Indigenous communities promoting Youthbeyondblue key messages, raising awareness of depression and anxiety and promoting early intervention and prevention for young people in regional, rural and remote Australia.  IHHP also represent beyondblue at community festivals, conferences and events.

Phunktional www.phunktional.org.au
beyondblue supports Phunktional with their innovative, artistic methods of engaging young people through dance, music and theatre. In our most recent partnership “Calling the Shots”, Phunktional has engaged young people to explore issues such as depression, substance misuse, suicide, risk-taking behaviour, family conflict and friendship through performance and art, while also raising awareness of depression and anxiety.

Good Sports Good Mental Health www.adf.org.au
The Good Sports Good Mental Health Program is an initiative which builds on the Australian Drug Foundation’s Good Sports Program.  The program aims to promote positive mental health in community sports clubs.  beyondblue and the Australian Drug Foundation are promoting this work in rural and regional areas of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.

Hawthorn Football Club and Youthbeyondblue
Hawthorn Football Club and Youthbeyondblue have teamed up to raise awareness of depression and anxiety, and promote Youthbeyondblue’s key messages - Look, Listen, Talk, and Seek Help - to members and the broader community. The three year partnership involves community engagement activities in the Northern Territory and the annual AFL beyondblue Cup awareness game between Hawthorn and the Geelong Cats.

Working with schools and universities to raise awareness and prevent depression and anxiety

beyondblue Secondary Schools Research Initiative
The beyondblue Schools Research Initiative is a research partnership between schools, local communities, the health sector and academics aimed at examining how school communities can prevent depression and anxiety in young people.

KidsMatter Primary www.kidsmatter.edu.au
KidsMatter is the first national mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative specifically developed for primary school children.

Victoria University Mental Health Literacy Project www.mindwise.org.au
beyondblue is supporting Orygen Youth Health in the development and implementation of an action research mental health literacy model at Victoria University Campuses.

Red Frogs University and Schoolies Initiative www.redfrogs.com.au
Red Frogs Australia Chaplaincy Network works with universities and schools around Australia to assist young people through transitional periods, such as later years secondary schooling and in tertiary education. beyondblue and Red Frogs partner across a range of initiatives, such as the national University Wall Planner to raise awareness of depression, anxiety and related substance use disorders.

Streetsmart Handbook
Youthbeyondblue has partnered with Country Wide Media since 2008 to develop the Streetsmart Handbook for all Year 11 students in Australia.  With a tailored handbook for each state and territory, the aim of the book is to provide information and referral as an “essential guide to adulthood.” The booklet addresses issues of health, well-being and includes a Youthbeyondblue chapter on depression and anxiety.

Support for people working with young people

Young Minds - Treating Depression & Anxiety in Young People
Young Minds is a training program developed for GPs, practice staff and allied health professionals, focusing on skills development in the diagnosis, management and treatment of high prevalence mental health disorders commonly occurring in young people.

Youthbeyondblue Workplace Training
Youthbeyondblue offers specialised training for people working with young people to increase their knowledge about depression and anxiety and where to get help. If you are interested in arranging a session, please email ybb@beyondblue.org.au for information on eligibility.

Support for parents and families

Kidsmatter Early Childhood www.kidsmatter.edu.au
KidsMatter is the first national mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative specifically developed for children from birth to school age.  It is based on the successful Kidsmatter Primary program.

Generation Next www.generationnext.com.au
Youthbeyondblue is supporting a series of Generation Next seminars.  These seminars provide practical strategies for parents, health professionals and teachers in working with young people.

Resources

Youthbeyondblue has a range of resources for young people, parents and families available via this website or in hardcopy which can be sent anywhere in Australia free of charge (See “Order Stuff”).  This website also has a “Share your Stories” section where people can share their experiences of depression and anxiety and talk about what’s going on.

Working with consumers and carers

BlueVoices
Any young person with personal experience of depression, anxiety or a related disorder is welcome to join blueVoices. blueVoices is an e-group, where consultation and participation opportunities are sent using email and people can choose their level of involvement. This participation underpins the programs and activities of Youthbeyondblue.

Young Ambassadors program
The Ambassador program provides opportunities for blueVoices members to undergo training and speak publicly about their personal experiences, treatment and recovery on behalf of beyondblue.  beyondblue currently has eight young Ambassadors from across Australia - Ambassador Profiles.

Research

Research into service effectiveness over time
beyondblue has partnered with the NSW Association of Adolescent Health to conduct a research project into effectiveness of youth health services in NSW in assisting young people with, or at risk of mental illness

What works for the treatment of depression in young people
beyondblue has partnered with Orygen Youth Health to develop a booklet to help young people understand different treatments for depression. The booklet assesses the evidence as to the effectiveness of available treatments.

For further information on beyondblue’s current research, involving young people, please see our Research page.