Outback Futures
Outback Futures provides regular, professional and consistent mental and allied health and wellbeing services to rural and remote Queenslanders.
By taking a unique approach of community facilitation, Outback Futures captures individual contributions to transforming the local community and creates relationships on a foundation of trust. In partnering with rural communities to educate and support locals, the ultimate goal is to equip people to advocate for their own mental health and wellbeing in the long term.
2019 Pitch
Funds raised: $41,740
Wellbeing and mental health is worsening in outback Queensland, with 1 in 4 children indicating probable serious mental health issues. This is compounded by the financial and emotional impact on families and communities affected by drought and flood. Outback Futures pitched at TFN Live Brisbane for funding to provide much-needed mental health support services to children in remote Queensland.
The Impact
Australia has always romanticised its outback, but alongside rugged beauty and space comes the threat of isolation and disconnection. The highest proportion of suicides for people under the age of 35 are in remote Queensland and 40% of children are vulnerable to falling behind in literacy and language.
Outback Futures was founded to address issues in the Queensland outback by adopting a ‘bush-model’ of care as opposed to ‘city-model’ and working with these communities in a locally minded way. Thanks to your generosity, they were able to provide over 200 hours of support to 20 children living in remote Queensland, allowing them to access counselling, allied health and educational services. Below is the story of one of these kids.
“When Sarah* was referred to Outback Futures, she was struggling with maths, English, memory and anxiety around her academic performance. As a young girl unable to understand how to address these issues, Sarah would experience emotional outbursts, mostly directed at her mum who was also her teacher through the distance education school system.
Sarah's outbursts caused immense stress for the family unit, not only due to the challenges associated with conducting classes under these conditions, but also because her family was at a loss as to how to support her. After hearing about Outback Futures, Sarah’s mum contacted our intake officer and coordinated a time for an initial assessment with one of our Learning & Literacy Specialists.
Over the past 12 months, Sarah has accessed weekly support sessions via our Stay With Me Program from a range of clinicians, predominantly our Learning & Literacy team. Today, Sarah is a completely different student. She has a much greater acceptance of performance results and making mistakes and rarely has emotional outbursts. She has blossomed into a confident learner who is willing to take risks in her approach to learning.
For Sarah’s mum, this weekly support has been crucial to her own well-being too. Our clinicians have provided Sarah's mum with strategies and resources to support her daughter through this development period, as well as more general emotional support. Thanks to the consistency of care and clinical support provided by the Outback Futures clinical team, Sarah and her family are now equipped to identify and manage learning and emotional challenges that may arise, creating a more resilient future for the family and community.” - Selena Gomersall, CEO
*Real name not used.
Read their impact report
Learn more about Outback Futures
Supporting Sustainable Development Goals:
