Community Survey
The KDSC used the Community Mental Health Index (cMHI) to better understand what is happening in Kiama and District areas.
What is the cMHI?
The Community Mental Health Index (cMHI) is a quantitative survey that is used to identify strengths and areas of improvement to lift mental health literacy in our community.
What does it measure?
The cMHI measures four areas that influence mental health literacy in our community. Those areas are: Improved Recognition; Reduced Stigma; Help-Seeking Behaviour; and Mental Health Promotion. The survey measures how we perform in these areas according to four of our most important support systems: Me; My Family; My Friends; and My Community.
How can we use it?
We can use the cMHI to understand what we are doing well, and what we need to focus on, so that we can catch mental health issues earlier, and lend necessary support to struggling individuals, their friends and family, and the community in which we all live.
What’s happening in Kiama?
Kiama and Districts are in the ‘Developing’ range, meaning that we do have some wins BUT we also have some key target areas to focus on.
Mental Health Literacy Rating
The KDSC scored 43.3% on the cMHI – Mental Health Literacy Rating which places us in the ‘Developing’ range. Ideally we want to strive for an ‘Aspirational Rating’ of 70%.
Gender Scores
Males scored 6 points lower than women. The men in our community are a clear target area for support.
Age Bracket score
Young people scored up to 30 points lower than the rest of the community. People aged 14-24 are a clear target area for support.
What did we learn as a community?
The survey showed us that as a community, what we think about mental health and what we do on a daily basis has a massive influence on whether or not someone gets help when they are in a crisis.
Me
We know where to get help but we are not good at talking about our mental health. We believe that our mental health is as valid and important as our physical health but we can’t reach out when we are thinking about suicide.
My Family
Our family members may know where to go for support but they still do not feel comfortable asking for help when they need it. Families who have open and non-judgemental conversations about mental health in the home are better at getting the support they need when something happens.
My Friends
We know that friends who talk about mental health, who know the signs and symptoms and who call out negative stereotypes are a key resource in encouraging people to get help and support, but, we are still performing very low with this in our community.
My Community
Our community encourages us to get support, but, there are no viable or affordable mental health support services available to us when we need it.
What the KDSC is doing about it
The KDSC has listened to what you told us and are committed to providing our community with the following four key areas of support.
More Events & Workshops
More events to reduce stigma and increase awareness of services in the area.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
Increase local mental health support services in the community.
Lighthouse Leadership
A Lighthouse Leadership training program for coaches and mentors in the community.
A Voice for young people
Making sure that young people’s voices in our community are heard.