Our stories
Having meaningful and productive conversations with young people can be challenging, especially when trying to discuss their mental health and what’s going on in their lives.
“We need more places that support mental health and housing, and we need to keep the NDIS. The NDIS has changed my life; every day I wake up happy, I’ve got a very good support worker and my life is going well now.”
This is Andrea’s message for Homelessness Week 2025 – a time to raise awareness of the impact of homelessness and the solutions needed to end homelessness.
Sanjiv’s life changed dramatically in 2019 when he began to experience serious mental health challenges. They led to him being hospitalised and left him unable to work.
Sanjiv (name changed for privacy reasons), 43, is a highly skilled professional chef who was working at top restaurants and hotels, in Melbourne and internationally for 15 years until he became unwell.
Kayla, 23, moved into Mind’s Youth Residential Rehabilitation (YRR) service in Rosanna after living with her grandparents for a number of years.
“I need a lot of support and they couldn’t do that and we all needed our own space,” Kayla said.
Living at Mind Australia’s Psychosocial Residential Rehabilitation (PRR) service in Preston (Victoria) has given Hailey the space, safety and structure to work on her recovery.
Two or three years ago, John’s teenage daughter Celine’s* mental health spiralled. She started to disengage at school and home and, struggling to connect with others, began using alcohol and recreational drugs as a coping mechanism.
Now 19, Celine has multiple diagnoses, including autism and anxiety, as well as her issues with alcohol and recreational drugs.