ReachOut is Australia’s leading online service supporting young people’s mental health and wellbeing during tough times. We have more than 20 years’ experience delivering free digital mental health and wellbeing resources for young people (and their families) using a strengths-based prevention and early intervention model.
ReachOut’s purpose is to be the trusted and safe digital space empowering young people to feel better. We’ve developed a Social Impact Framework to help us demonstrate how our services can achieve this.
ReachOut’s Social Impact Framework brings together three facets we can measure to tell our impact story — the positive outcomes that result for the audiences we reach who engage with our suite of digital services and products.
Engagement
We measure the digital Engagement of our users, to show the level of interest in our products and services. The more engaged users are, the more strongly they’re on the path to experiencing positive change.
Outcomes
Outcome measurement allows us to capture the changes that we’re confident can be attributed to the use of ReachOut’s digital services. We’ve identified six core areas where we believe ReachOut can achieve positive change for users of our services.
Reach
We measure our Reach to understand our effectiveness as an online service and to find out more about our accessibility to different types of users who access ReachOut’s services, particularly young people who might be more vulnerable to, or at greater risk of, experiencing mental health challenges.
ReachOut’s Social Impact Framework outlines key indicators for Outcomes, Reach and Engagement, across our services for young people, parents and carers, and schools. It gives us a blueprint for accountability and data-driven decision-making. It will help ReachOut to be built on the positive changes that support young people to feel better.
1. Mental health literacy
“I have better knowledge and understanding about mental health”
2. Connection
“I feel more connected to others”
3. Better understanding of self
“I have a better understanding of what I’m/the young person I’m supporting is going through”
4. Sense of agency
“I feel more in control managing challenges to my/my child's mental health”
5. Relief from negative feelings
“I feel better than I did before”
6. Validation
“I feel okay about who I am and what I'm experiencing or feeling”
ReachOut's Theory of Change
A key component of our Social Impact Framework is our Theory of Change model, which links our information and support services to the impacts outlined in our Social Impact Framework. It shows us the logical connection between the work we are doing and how engaging with our services can lead to positive mental health impacts.
Download a copy of the evidence base for our Theory of Change
Our Social Impact Report
We will report on our social impact and the steps that we are taking to make sure we are on track to achieve our purpose every year.
Watch this space for ‘Our Social Impact in 2022–2023’.
Young people are at the heart of everything we do.
Emily
"If I never found the ReachOut Forums, I genuinely don't know whether I'd be here today."
Jay
"The school had counsellors ... but I didn't find the counselling helpful ... I was looking for somewhere to go, and I found the ReachOut Forums."
Kai
"I used the ReachOut Forums to be able to connect with other non-cisgendered people online, and be able to use their stories to help me feel more confident in my gender."
