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Our mission

Inspire helps young people lead happier lives.

“Please just hear my thank you. Thank you for being there when no one else is here for me. You have just saved a life. Thank you. Now I have tools to help me cope and suicide will not win!”

Chrissie, 18

Tragically, the leading cause of death among young Australians (14-25) is suicide. To tackle this issue the Inspire Foundation provides services which aim to improve young people’s mental health and let them know that they don’t have to go through tough times alone. Our flagship service ReachOut.com increases young people’s knowledge of mental health and wellbeing, increases their help seeking skills and ensures that they feel less alone. We provide our services online because it offers young people anonymity; it offers help and support 24 hours a day; it is accessible to young Australians in remote regions and it allows us to help thousands at any one time.

By 2020 we aim to make a global contribution to young people’s mental health and wellbeing with every young Australian knowing, trusting and using ReachOut.com when they need to.

ReachOut.com is underpinned by a program model that’s based on our strength in providing mental health support services that are accessible and relevant to young people.

This is the Inspire Difference:

1. Young people are at the centre of all we do.

They’re directly involved in developing and delivering all Inspire initiatives and ensuring that these initiatives closely align with their needs, interests, language, and culture. Research shows that preventative approaches that directly involve young people are proven to be more effective in building resilience and reducing mental health problems for those young people involved.

2. Research and evaluation underpin everything we do.

We measure the impact of Inspire’s programs and contribute to the international evidence base on the most effective ways to improve the mental health and well-being of young people. This knowledge informs the design and development of our programs. We also implement an evaluation framework that measures the impact of our programs.

Our research and evaluation team:

• Contributes to the evidence base about what works in improving young people’s mental health and well-being;
• Builds sustainable partnerships with academic and other organizations to grow the evidence base;
• Systematically measures program outcomes against program objectives and goals; and
• Continually improves program delivery through feedback and active participation from young people and staff who work with youth.

3. We reach young people in ways that traditional services can’t.

Most young Australians today are using the Internet, and after family and friends, it’s where young people turn for advice and support in difficult times. The Internet is accessible, anonymous, engaging and informative, providing a space where young people can feel empowered and confident to talk about sensitive issues. Importantly, the Internet can service an infinite number of young people simultaneously. So the Internet is where Inspire is.

4. We build trusted social brands that are a part of young people’s landscape.

Through relevant and engaging website content; social marketing campaigns that build brand loyalty and help reduce the stigma around mental health and help-seeking and partnerships with other youth brands, we build lasting social brands that young people trust, feel they have a sense of ownership of and will recommend to their friends.