It's so important that people know there is support out there for them, now more than ever. In the COVID world we currently live in, existing support services are experiencing high demand as mental health problems like loneliness and depression are becoming more prevalent.
As young people ourselves in our early 20s, we have struggled with our own mental and emotional wellbeing. It's been tough being unable to see our friends and family for months and we've often found ourselves struggling and feeling overwhelmed with the uncertainty of the future. We know simply powering through, focusing on the positive and finding silver linings only works until it doesn't. Because when we don't acknowledge the reality of our wellbeing, we're left with this in-between feeling where we're not overly optimistic and enthusiastic about how things are going, but we're not in a state of crisis either. We feel a bit lost and don't know where to go.
And we know we're not alone in feeling this way.
Our peers are dealing with all kinds of events now from being stuck living alone, to losing jobs, to adjusting to life online, to losing loved ones, the list goes on. We know our peers are on an emotional rollercoaster where some days are fine, and some days are just not. And we know how difficult it can be to reach out to close networks and be open about how you're truly feeling.
That's why we decided to volunteer with Friends for Good, to make meaningful contribution and help make a difference by supporting a research project organised through corporate skilled volunteering, to create and build a service, a safe place that we and all young people can go to when we need some support. This place would be tailored for young people under 25 where they can just be open and honest, talk about whatever they like and just have that ear to listen.
We’ve started by conducting background research, surveys & focus groups to try and understand how we can help better support and connect with the young people across Australia. We've already gained some amazing insights and stories, but we would love to hear more. We want to be able to deliver something that is valuable and impactful for our peers so if you are under 25, fill out the short survey linked below and tell us what you think. How would you like to be supported if you are feeling lonely and isolated? What can we do to help you get out of that in-between feeling and focus on the things that matter? Talk to us so we can provide an easily accessible and meaningful service that makes a difference.
Give your opinions here.
