Ozzie Road Trip

This was a 43 day trip around Oz! - 14,500km+...

The Ozzie Road Trip might be finished but the journey has just begun...

You might wonder why this scruffy face appears next to a title about Riding for Youth!...

I’m Joe Campbell - father, grandfather and motorbike enthusiast. On June 14th I set out from Sydney on the longest and most meaningful motorbike ride of my life: a 14,600km solo journey around Australia to raise awareness of youth mental health and depression in rural and regional communities

Aussie blokes don’t generally ask for help. We put up with tough stuff- sometimes until it’s too late. During my ride I had over 500 conversations with people in local communities, media, schools and mens groups about the issue of youth depression and the support services that are available. By starting these conversations about a topic as taboo as depression, I believed l help other blokes, young and old, feel like they can open up a bit and get stuff out in the air.

The Ozzie Road Trip is raising funds for the Inspire Foundation and its flagship service, Reach Out!, which was launched in 1998 in response to Australia’s then escalating rates of youth suicide.

Reach Out! provides 16-25 year olds with information on issues ranging from depression, bullying, anxiety and body image. By being online means that young people can access the information anonymously and confidentially 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You might ask how a website can help a young person who is suffering from mental health issues. A 2007 study undertaken by Mission Australia actually found that young people are 2-6 times more likely to go online than call a helpline, visit a school counsellor, or see a doctor, minister or ‘someone else in the community’. And as many parents reading this would know, young people spend a lot of time on the internet.

If you feel strongly about youth mental health issues such as depression, find out how you can donate to my initiative here. And read more about the innovative work that the Inspire Foundation is doing with young people across Australia. This is also a call to action to any bike riders across Australia to get on your bike for youth mental health!

Want to see who's Invoved? Click Here

All the best and hope to see you on the road.

Joe Campbell

Youth Mental Health & Suicide Facts & Figures (Current as of May 2008)

Mental Health issues for young people:

> In every Year 12 classroom, 7 young people have a mental health difficulty, but only 2 seek professional help. 1 young person will have attempted suicide._^[1]

> 75% of mental illness begins before age 25 _^[2]

> Intentional self-harm / suicide is the second most common cause for death and injury among young people aged 12-24 (27%), only exceeded by transport accidents (45%). _^[3]

> Almost 75% of all intentional self-harm deaths among young people are males (2.7 times the rate of females) [3]

> Overall rates of youth suicide have declined by 56% since 1997, with 244 deaths in 2006._^[4]

> At the same time, however, more young people experience high to very high levels of psychological distress (13% of males, compared to 7% in 1997; 19% of females, compared to 13% in 1997) [3]

> When including moderate psychological stress, the figures jump to 40% males and 51% females.[3]

> At the same time, the Internet offers new opportunities for young people to connect and find support:

§ In 2006-7, 90% of 18-24 year-olds and 92% of 15-17 year-olds used the internet[5]

§ Between 1998 and 2007 the proportion of households with Internet access quadrupled from 16% in 1998 to 64% in 2007 [5]

§ Young people are 2-6 times more likely to go online than call a helpline, visit a school counsellor, or see a doctor, minister or “someone else in the community”.[6]

Links to online sources:

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australian Institute of Health and Wefare

Useful links from Reach Out!

Reach Out! provides provides a wealth of information on a range of issues from depression to anxiety and body image. Reach Out! is Australia’s most accessed online mental health service for young people. The website receives around 200,000 unique visits each month.

Check out Reach Out!’s useful factsheets on the following topics:

Depression and other mental health issues

Positive stuff and communication skills

Family Issues

[1] Sawyer et al, 2000
[2] Kendall and Kessler, 2002
[3] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2007
[4] ABS 2006
[5] ABS 2007
[6] Mission

Australia Youth Report 2007

Ozzie Road Trip Contacts:

Trip Organiser:
Joe Campbell
M: 0434213935

Postal Address:
PO Box 424
Frenchs Forest 1640
NSW

Ozzie Road Trip supporting the Inspire Foundation: