Bushfire Emergency

14 January 2020

As we all know, Australia is currently experiencing an unprecedented and devastating bushfire season. All of us at ReachOut are heartbroken for the losses suffered by communities affected, and are so incredibly proud of our firefighters and their support crews, working to put out these blazes.

Bushfires have an immediate and devastating impact on the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and their communities at large. ReachOut is working collaboratively with the mental health sector and government on a coordinated response to this crisis.

As a digital service, ReachOut has developed a capability to ensure we can be a frontline responder when significant events or disaster happens, providing information, resources, peer support and referral to on-the-ground services when and where people need them. Last year, we developed a digital drought care package to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people, and their parents, in rural, regional and remote areas affected by drought and which was accessed by 56,000 people. In September 2019, in anticipation of more severe weather and bushfires, we planned and created additional support to respond to natural disasters. These resources are currently available via ReachOut's services:

• Under 25s

• Parents

In mid-November we also deployed our peer-support community to assist those directly affected by bushfires, as well as others feeling sad watching on. This community has been busy offering support over the Christmas/New Year period.

ReachOut is proud to be on the frontline offering supporting when and where needed.

A full list of available resources can be found at Life In Mind.