So far, Mind Blank has hosted more than 7000 young people in our region. In August,  a leading international researcher, clinician and advocate for mental health reform Professor Patrick McGorry will be endorsing our national expansion roll-out that is promised to directly impact another half a million young Australians over the next five years. 

Twelve months ago Mind Blank had its biggest break yet. The Teen Spirit Foundation and the IMB Foundation jumped on board as financial sponsors to support the SCUBA project, Sub-Conscious Understanding for Better Awareness.

This initiative allowed us to take Mind Blank’s creative approach into high schools across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven. During this time Mind Blank directly impacted on 3350 high school students by hosting 23 SCUBA shows on the topics of depression awareness and suicide prevention. In moving forward we will be using what we have learnt from the SCUBA project to expand into new areas.

The business model we have created will be used as a blue print to self-sustain our work in each new area.  Over the next 12 months Mind Blank will be touring the Hawkesbury, Parramatta, Sutherland, Campbelltown, Blue Mountains, Goulburn, Queanbeyan and the ACT.  Each area has been asking for Mind Blank’s work for some time now. In this first year alone we are looking at addressing a further 27,750 individuals on a variety of mental health topics. 

Only preliminary results of the data collected from this project are now available. Youth Mental Health Psychologist Kerry Searle has collected data from several hundred young people.

Our initial quantitative analysis shows an increase in the intention of young people to seek help for mental health and emotional problems after attending a Mind Blank show. Particularly promising is the emerging trend towards increased intentions to seek help from school teachers.

Feedback suggests that young people are very engaged with the mental health education content of the Mind Blank shows. Young people have reported that they listen and take in the information more readily in our interactive theatre format which affirms far greater responsiveness comparing to more traditional forum formats that they have experienced.

Breaking down barriers to engage young people is not an easy task.

I believe there are so many factors that have contributed to the success of this initiative. The young people we work with find it easy to relate to the Mind Blank team because most of us are still young like them. We use humour to interest them in what we are doing and ‘‘trick’’ them into learning. I say this because you can tell they are having a good time and therefore they don’t realise they are in the middle of an educational experience.  

This research evaluation phase has helped us gain personal insights into what young people want when it comes to answering questions regarding youth mental health education.

We have collected feedback voiced from these young people to select what new project themes Mind Blank will work with next. We will be announcing these themes at our event launch on August 17.  

Where we are now is a new beginning.  Mind Blank is experiencing a new expansion phase and we are looking to partner with more corporate organisations, whether large multinational or a small business.

There are a number of ways that an organisation or an individual can support the work of Mind Blank. If you own a business or you are interested, contact the Mind Blank team on + 6168912399 or info@mindblank.org.au to discuss how you can help our work by providing support, information and education opportunities to young people and their families both locally and across Australia.

Ally Kelly is president of Wollongong-based Mind Blank Incorporated, a not-for-profit organisation that generates awareness of mental health concerns in youth across Australia by engaging youth in a unique way. http://www.mindblank.org.au/