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2018 Act-Belong-Commit Impact Statement

Posted 2 May 2019

We are excited to release our 2018 Annual Impact Statement, summarising the campaign’s achievements throughout the year.

In 2018, we supported 257 partners across WA, other states and internationally in the promotion of the Act-Belong-Commit message to deliver grassroots strategies to encourage people to ‘Act-Belong-Commit’ for good mental health. We also welcomed our newest international partner, Elon University in the USA, who has adopted Act-Belong-Commit as a campus-wide initiative to foster a mentally healthy climate and culture.

The Act-Belong-Commit campaign continued to make an impact, striking a chord with people of all backgrounds and helping to change attitudes towards mental illness. Results of the 2018 evaluation of the campaign show that 80% of the adult population aware of the message (nearly 2.2 million Western Australian adults), and that awareness and behaviour change amongst those with a diagnosed mental illness or recent mental health problem was even higher.

Of those surveyed, 65% stated the campaign had made them more open to talking about mental health, and 63% stated it had reduced stigma associated with mental illness. And of those aware of Act-Belong-Commit, 16% (over 350,000 people) had deliberately done something to improve their mental health as a result of the campaign, with 99% of those who did something stating it had helped their mental health.

Act-Belong-Commit’s key programs continued to reach priority groups including Aboriginal communities, young people and rural and remote communities.

Unfortunately, the partnership with Chevron Australia ceased in July 2018, and we have been actively seeking alternative funding to support a number of our programs and to help grow the campaign’s reach and impact. Thankfully, Healthway provided additional campaign funding for our Mentally Healthy Schools Program until mid-2019, with Stan Perron Charitable Trust coming on board as a donor to fund the program from mid-2019 to 2022. At the end of 2018, the Aboriginal Program and Youth Connectors remained unfunded.

Some of the highlights from 2018 include:

• A celebratory event marking 10 years since the campaign was launched state-wide in WA, with four WA Country Health Service sites and four Local Governments recognised for 10 years of partnership

• Development of three new TV advertisements including a refreshed animation ad, arts ad, and a Standing Strong Together ad for Aboriginal communities

• Production of two testimonial videos featuring men from Roebourne talking about their life and the Standing Strong Together message

• A partnership with the Fremantle Dockers, providing access to members, promotion in the ‘Docker’ magazine, representation from coach Michelle Cowan and player Lara Filocamo who became Act-Belong-Commit Ambassadors, and Act-Belong-Commit activations at a game

• A Community Partnership with VenuesWest offering Western Australian individuals and families (many of whom had mental health issues or were experiencing hardship) experiences including The Wiggles Concert and Taylor Swift

• Development of a new campaign website.

I would like to thank our Principal Partners, Healthway and the Mental Health Commission for their support in 2018. Thanks also to our Community Partner, VenuesWest, for providing amazing experiences to our community, and to Curtin University for continuing to host the Act-Belong-Commit team.

Lastly, thank you to our funders and supporters, the dedicated team at Mentally Healthy WA, the Act-Belong-Commit Steering Committee, campaign partners, students and volunteers, Ambassadors and the Western Australian community—we are all working together to create a more mentally healthy WA.

Amberlee Nicholas Campaign Manager

You can read the complete 2018 Annual Impact Statement here.