FAQ

What is ReachOut?

ReachOut is an information and support service using evidence based principles and technology to help teens and young adults facing tough times and struggling with mental health issues. All content is written by teens and young adults, for teens and young adults, to meet them where they are, and help them recognize their own strengths and use those strengths to overcome their difficulties and/or seek help if necessary. The Inspire USA Foundation oversees ReachOut.

Reachout.com has 4 key sections:

• The Facts provides information on a range of mental health issues
• Real Stories shares personal experiences with mental health issues from teens and young adults and how they got through these issues
• Get Help provides information about how you might find the help you need
• Add Your Voice presents opportunities for you to contribute content to ReachOut and have your opinions become part of the larger ReachOut community.

Is ReachOut confidential?

Yes it is. ReachOut is a space you can use in whatever way makes sense for you. You don’t need to provide any personal information to just visit. However, if you wish to comment on our fact sheets or blogs, you need to provide your email and display name. We will only share your email address if you have posted something we feel suggests you are going to harm yourself or someone else. No one who reads the ReachOut site and your comments will see your email address, only your display name.

If you’d like to become a Contributing Editor, we’ll ask you to provide some information like your gender, race, zip code and age. We only use this information to assure that we have a diversity of voices that help inform our work. We will not share this information with advertisers or other organizations without your consent.

While you will provide personal information to the ReachOut staff when you submit your story, your story (either video, audio, or written) can be published on the site without the use of your name. It is up to you. Because protecting your privacy is very important to us, we have established a privacy policy that safeguards personal information about you and how we handle safety concerns that may require action on our part. Read our Privacy Policy for more details.

Does ReachOut provide online counseling?

No, ReachOut does not provide online counseling. Our primary reason for using technology-based services like the ReachOut website is to create an anonymous and supportive space where teens and young adults can find the information they need and can voice their opinions and thoughts without fear of being judged or being different. However, there is information on our site to help you decide if you need counseling and resources for how to find someone to help you. Please check out the Get Help section of our site.

Who can I call if I need to talk through an issue?

ReachOut does not provide online, email or telephone counseling. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you feel you are in a crisis you should go to our Crisis Help page.

How does ReachOut help young people?

ReachOut provides teens and young adults with a non-threatening first step to explore how they can help themselves through a tough time. We believe young adults and teens have the strength to develop skills to get through a tough time and to feel comfortable with the knowledge they receive to seek additional help for themselves.

ReachOut can help by:

• Improving your understanding of the issues that relate to your mental health by providing information based on the best research evidence reviewed by experts, yet written by teens and young adults like yourself.
• Increasing your skills to deal with a tough time including how to talk to people about what you are going through, how you can solve problems and cope with issues. ReachOut also provides techniques for you to talk to friends and/or family members who might be the one(s) going through the tough time.
• Showing, through increased knowledge about many of the issues you deal with, that getting help is okay.
• Connecting you to other teens and young adults to share opinions and stories and to provide support to each other in a safe and positive environment.

How has ReachOut worked directly with teens and young adults?

ReachOut has worked alongside teens and young adults since its launch in 1998 in Australia. From the beginning of Inspire USA and throughout the process of getting ReachOut ready to launch here in the United States, teens and young adults have contributed their skills, ideas and feedback to ensure ReachOut is an effective and relevant service for others like them. ReachOut continues to invite the participation of teens and young adults through a variety of different mechanisms, including the submission of content directly to the ReachOut website. Some of the many ways teens and young adults work with us include:

ReachOut Youth Council. Council members develop and review content for ReachOut to help assure that the website’s information is relevant to the types of issues faced by teens and young adults and that the look and feel relates to teens and young adults. They also help promote ReachOut by speaking about us at events and posting on other youth oriented websites. Current Council members are listed here.

The internship program.  The internship program gives students the opportunity to experience working in the non-profit sector while focusing on large scale ReachOut projects aligned with their studies. ReachOut in the US intends to initiate an Internship program in 2010.

How can I get involved with ReachOut?

There are several ways you can get involved with ReachOut.  Here are a few ideas.

• Online youth involvement.You can be involved in a number of ways online including contributing comments on fact sheets and blogs and capturing how you navigated a tough time as a short video; audio or written story.
• ReachOut Youth Council. You can apply to become a ReachOut Council member. Council members are involved in ReachOut by reviewing and critiquing existing fact sheets for appropriateness of content; writing new fact sheets on identified topics; providing feedback on website features; and promoting ReachOut online and at events. For more information, please email info@inspire.org.
• Internship program. If you might be interested in our internship program, please drop us a line (info@inspire.org) and put in the title, “Internship,” that way it will get to the right person. We have flexible intern opportunities which can span across the areas of marketing, IT, public health, psychology and many others.

We hope to get even more teens and young adults involved with ReachOut in the US and help steer ReachOut into the future! Anyone between the ages of 16 - 24 can get involved! We want YOU!

What expert advice does ReachOut receive?

Information you find on reachout.com is developed in partnership with experts in the field and expert organizations. For more details see the ReachOut would like to thank page on our website.

Who funds ReachOut in the US?

We receive financial and in-kind support from leading Australian and US Foundations, as well as from individual donors and fundraising events. Find out more about ReachOut partners on our website.

If ReachOut is a suicide prevention initiative, why don’t you talk about suicide?

We began our journey in Australia 1998 by targeting youth suicide, but since then we have broadened our work to cover a much larger range of issues including depression, eating disorders, body image, bullying, stress, conflict, drugs and alcohol and more. We realize that many of these same issues are connected with risk for suicide. We want to be relevant for all teens and young adults no matter where they’re at in life. We also take a health promotive perspective, meaning we are interested in what promotes health, not just what prevents illness or problems. We are really excited about helping teens and young adults lead happier lives.

If there’s anything you want to know about ReachOut that isn’t covered here, please email your question to info@inspire.org