New ReachOut and Raising Children Network partnership brings peer support to even more parents across the country

14 February 2020

ReachOut and Raising Children Network have today announced that they have launched a pilot partnership to give millions of Australian parents access to ReachOut Parents peer forums via the Raising Children Network site.

The partnership, with an initial six-month term, means that any parent searching for teen parenting information via Raising Children Network will see relevant discussions from ReachOut Parents peer forum. Parents can then read the discussion and/or sign up to contribute to the conversation.

Ashley de Silva, CEO of ReachOut, said this was the first partnership of its kind for parents and an exciting development for both organisations.

'ReachOut is excited to collaborate with Raising Children Network on this pilot. Peer support has been a core part of ReachOut's offering since 2007, first for young people and later with parents. By working together on a digital partnership, we've been able to make the service offering available to more parents without duplicating effort or investment.

'Parent peer support can help parents by learning from the experiences of other families, to feel less alone and provide hope, and gain ideas and information to support their child' he said.

ReachOut Parents is a free online service providing evidence-based practical support and tips that encourage effective communication and relationships between parents and young people aged 12–18 years, as well as easy-to-read information on a range of mental health and wellbeing issues.

Professor Julie Green, Executive Director of Raising Children Network, said the partnership was an excellent way to reach more parents.

'Both our organisations provide valuable support to parents of teens and in partnering on this initiative we are making it easier for parents to access additional support that meets their needs.'

Raising Children Network is an Australian parenting website providing free, reliable, up-to-date and independent information to help families.

About ReachOut

ReachOut is the most accessed online mental health service for young people and their parents in Australia. Their trusted self-help information, peer-support program and referral tools save lives by helping young people be well and stay well. The information they offer parents makes it easier for them to help their teenagers, too.

ReachOut has been championing wider access to mental health support since they launched their online service more than 20 years ago. Everything they create is based on the latest evidence and is designed with experts, and young people or their parents. That's why ReachOut is a trusted, relevant service that's so easy to use.

Accessed by more than 2 million people in Australia each year, ReachOut is a free service that's available anytime and pretty much anywhere.

About Raising Children Network

Funded by the Australian Government and reviewed by experts, Raising Children Network provides free, reliable, up-to-date and independent information to help families grow and thrive together.

Articles, videos and interactive resources are tailored to different ages and stages, with content that is easy to find and easy to digest. Designed for busy families it includes evidence-based answers to hundreds of parenting questions.