Health & Wellbeing Archives - The Burdekin Association

Why giving back matters

October 2, 2024August 14, 2024

When we lift others up it's good for us too!

If you’re reading this, you are most likely someone who already knows why giving back matters and you most likely share our concern about social issues, including youth homelessness, and may want to do something about it. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and it is difficult to know where to start.

Many, rightly believe, that it is our moral obligation to look after those less fortunate in society. But, did you know that people who give back tend to be happier, healthier and live longer?

“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”
Chinese proverb

The power of giving back

Volunteering your time, energy, attention, expertise and financial assistance doesn’t just make the world a better place, it also makes you better as a person. You could be the most successful person in the world, but what does it mean if we don’t use it to make a difference and share with others? True fulfillment in life comes from lifting each other up.

In times of uncertainty, nurturing empathy and kindness buffer us from the various negative narratives around us. In fact, being kind and altruistic can offer a solution to many of the problems we face as a society.

Kindness: The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. From a survival point of view, kindness makes sense – we have evolved to understand that kindness and cooperation means inclusion and safety.

Empathy: Humans are hard-wired for empathy. It helps us to connect with and respond to our babies, but it is also a skill that develops over time and is why, perhaps, some people are more empathetic than others.

Kindness and empathy are good for us as a species and because of this, we intuitively know that our happiness depends on the happiness of others.

Altruism: True altruism is the unselfish concern for other people, doing things out of a desire to help, not because you feel obligated to out of duty, loyalty, or religious reasons. Altruism is about reducing another’s suffering, without expecting anything in return.

Kindness is contagious: If you dropped a single pebble into still water, the water would ripple outward in widening circles. Kindness contagion is much like the ripple effect of the pebble and the water. Even just witnessing an act of kindness motivates us towards acts of kindness ourselves.

The ripple effect of doing good. — The ripple effect of giving.

Health benefits of giving

‘Helpers high’ refers to the feel-good chemicals our body releases when we do something good – release endorphins (oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine) – that make us feel good and therefore are ways of supporting our own wellbeing too.

As mentioned, we have evolved to understand that acts of kindness and altruism improve wellbeing and foster social connections – making us both personally happier and stronger and more resilient as a community. Doing good, makes you feel good, and because it is contagious, we do more good.

Wellbeing: Small and large acts of kindness help reduce stress, depression, anxiety and loneliness and increases our levels of life satisfaction, happiness and self-esteem, diverting our attention away from ourselves, giving us a sense of purpose. We can have all the success in the world, but if we don’t share the success with others – what does it matter? We need a community to belong to – something that is bigger than us.

Physical health: Giving back may also improve our physical health by lowering blood pressure, strengthening our immune system, staving off disease and lowering cortisol levels. Ultimately, helping us to live longer, happier, healthier lives!

Sometimes we will never know the impact we have had on someone’s life – so, do it anyway.

Do you ever experience helpers high? — You might never know how much your support means to someone.

Ways to give back:

Give time: get hands-on, we are always looking for volunteers to help us make a difference.
Expertise: do you have a special skill or service that could help us? Get in touch.
Partner: would you like to partner with us to solve youth homelessness?
Be a carer: Burdekin foster carers, care for children and young people in a variety of settings.
Fundraising: make a difference by fundraising for youth.
Donate: your donations make our work possible.

Further reading

Causes of youth homelessness – mental health

July 21, 2023July 17, 2023

The Burdekin Association - prevention and early intervention

There are many causes of youth homelessness including family breakdown and bereavement. The top three causes of youth homelessness are generally considered to be:

Family and domestic violence
Housing crisis
Relationship/family breakdown

There are multiple others causes which are often correlative. They happen together or one causes the other or they’re bi-directional.

Exiting out-of-home care
Mental illness
Trauma – such as abuse, addiction or neglect
Addiction
Lack of housing
Unemployment

In the case of mental health, there are strong links between homelessness and the exacerbation of mental health issues, additionally mental illness can also increase the risk of homelessness.

The Mission Australia Youth Survey 2022 found:

27.7% said mental health challenges including: low mental health, stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem or self-harm.
19.7% said relationship challenges, death, abuse, challenging relationships with family, friends or significant others.
28.8% had high psychological distress, 23.5% felt lonely all or most of the time, 44.0% were extremely or very concerned about coping with stress. Males had higher levels of self-reported wellbeing, followed by females with gender diverse young people having the lowest at just 12.5%.
53.4% have needed help with mental health challenges, with the top barrier to seeking help being feeling stigma or shame. Read more.

I could talk to my parents about it but I am afraid of how they will react. Female, 15 VIC

Youth support services Inner West Sydney

Youth homelessness and mental health

Young people who experience homelessness are more likely to experience mental ill-health than those in stable housing.

It has been estimated that the prevalence of mental ill-health is at least 300 to 400 per cent higher among people experiencing homelessness when compared to people in stable housing.
Oyrgen’s Youth Homelessness and Mental Health report

In addition to the increased prevalence of mental ill-health among young people experiencing homelessness, it has also been shown that homelessness can increase the severity of mental ill-health. Research has found elevated levels of psychosis, anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and alcohol and other drug use among people who are homeless.(31) As many as 90 per cent of young people experiencing homelessness have been estimated to meet criteria for diagnosis of at least one mental disorder.(32) Young people experiencing homelessness are also at elevated risk for suicidal ideation (40 to 80 per cent) and suicide attempts (23 to 67 per cent).
Oyrgen’s Youth Homelessness and Mental Health report

What is needed?

We understand far more than we ever did before about mental health and illness. Help is available but we still have a way to go to address both youth homelessness and youth mental health.

We need:

Low cost housing
Prevention and early intervention
Outreach and support
Effective programs

Further help:

In an emergency, call 000

Lifeline: 13 11 14
Kids Help Line (5–25 years): 1800 55 1800
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue: 1800 512 348
MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978
headspace

Causes of youth homelessness – family breakdown

June 20, 2023June 6, 2023

The Burdekin Association youth homelessness services

Family breakdown is one of the leading causes of youth homelessness in Australia today.

According to AIHW, in 2020–21, around 41,700 people aged 15–24 presented alone to SHS agencies, accounting for 15% of all SHS clients.

The main reasons these young people presented were:

family and domestic violence (17% or around 7,000 clients).
housing crisis (17% or around 7,000 clients).
relationship/family breakdown (13% or over 5,200 clients).

Other reasons include:

Difficult family situations such as parental drug and alcohol abuse, abuse, neglect
Leaving a parental home without stable employment
Leaving state care without an appropriate plan in place
Mental illness
Alcohol and other drug issues
Rejection or trauma associated with gender identity or expression
Discrimination in the private rental market due to lower income or lack of rental references
Insecure employment
Less access to social housing

Homelessness and the LGBTIQA+ community

In 2019 the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University, with support from Rainbow Health Australia and Rainbow Network conducted a report called Writing Themselves in 4. Researchers asked 6,418 LGBTIQA+ people, aged 14 to 21 about their experiences with education, homelessness, harassment, assault, mental health, community connections and more.

23.6 per cent had experienced homelessness and for 11.5 per cent it was in the past year. This was often directly related to family rejection of participants being LGBTIQA+.

In the Snapshot of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Statistics for LGBTQIA+ People from LGBTIQA+ LGBTIQA+ Health Australia. Young people aged 16 to 17 were over three times more likely to report high or very high levels of psychological distress.

The Journeys Home report found that Family rejection was a major issue for LGBTIQA+ people, and their pathway to homelessness is more complex with discrimination also coming from the housing sector.

Getting help

There are a large number of support services available today, both for young people and their families. Having open conversations about sexuality and gender is helpful, as is keeping an open mind and above all letting your child know they are loved and accepted for who they are. If you are a parent who is having a hard time, getting support from any of these organisations may be helpful. You can also ask us, we assist families and community with a range of support services.

We believe everyone deserves to feel safe, to be loved and have a home. Let us know if you found this article helpful or if there is anything you would add?

Challenges facing young people – school

May 19, 2023

In the Mission Australia Youth Survey of 2022 young people reported their biggest personal challenges in the past year, what they found helpful in dealing with that challenge and what more could be done to help them address their challenge.

41.5% reported school challenges including: academic pressure, high workload, teachers, learning difficulties and general issues with schools.

41.8% of students reported barriers to achieving study or work goals.

Top 3 Barriers – mental health, academic ability, financial difficulty

From a student:

Inform parents about the stress around grades, teachers always say that marks
don’t matter but they do to our parents. Female, 17, VIC

Being a teen is challenging – they’re worried about exams and school work, decisions about what comes after school and probably most importantly (to them) the social side of school – friends, peer pressures, exclusion, bullying.

External factors also have an impact on school life – home life, financial hardship, relationships, identity, sexual orientation, extra curricular activities, social media use and cyber bullying, sleep hygiene and lifestyle habits, addiction issues – drugs and alcohol or gaming and gambling, general wellbeing including mental health and global issues such as climate change and war.

What can parents and carers do about it?

Maintain open lines of communication as much as possible. Refrain from overreacting or trivialising things that are important to the young person. Listen without judgement – use the active listening technique. Show affection but be mindful of their personal boundaries – it is normal for teens to want to pull away somewhat. Respect that they have a natural inclination to want more independence and privacy. Praise them, be light and fun as much as possible and minimise pressure and shaming. We know parenting teenagers can be difficult and most of us are time-poor these days. It is important to make time for ourselves for things we love too.

Rely on your extended network for support and seek out someone to talk to if you are struggling, whether it is a friend you can trust or a professional.

What Burdekin is doing about:

The children and young people who come to Burdekin have their own unique challenges when it comes to educational engagement for example: trauma, disadvantage, relationship problems, mental health issues, frequent moving to name a few. These unique challenges are the reason we developed the Burdekin Learning Space, where children and young people who for whatever reason are unable to engage in traditional education can receive support from a dedicated Education Specialist. You can read more about our Learning Space and how you can support it here.

We also offer a number of other programs including Family Services to assist when extra help is needed, the Dee Why Project and the Canada Bay Project, Burdekin is also the lead agency in the Avalon Youth Hub.

We are excited to hear about a new collaborative research project: Fostering school attendance for students in Out-of-Home Care and look forward to what outcomes it may bring for children and young people in out-of-home care.

When to worry about your teen:

If your teen starts acting out of character with extreme mood shifts, withdraws, becomes secretive or you note significant changes in eating habits or your teen begins to obsess over things, spends excessive amounts of time online, struggles with sleep, declines dramatically in academic performance – these are all signs that there might be a problem. Don’t wait, seek advice, it is better to seek advice and not really need it than to wait too long.

Getting help:

There are many options, you can speak to somebody at your teens school, visit your primary care doctor and/or seek out professional help from community service providers. These include services such as ours. Our phone number: 02 8976 1777 or email burdekin.admin@burdekin.org.au.

Further resources can be found via the Hub, Lifeline, headspace, Kids Helpline Kids Help Line Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 and if life is in danger, please call 000. Local services are also listed on the Inner West Council website and Northern Beaches Council website.

10 reasons why young people are awesome

May 31, 2023May 10, 2023

We are all about the awesomeness of young people and while we try to remind you now and then of this fact, we thought a whole blog dedicated to what we think about young people is a great idea.

Unfortunately young people often get a bit of a bad rap. There are way too many stereotypes and inaccuracies shared in general and even more about the vulnerable young people who don’t need bad publicity but really need our help.

Given that we work with young people all day every day, through the good and the bad, we consider ourselves experts and know many positives attributes that stand out.

Here are some – maybe you can think of others? Some of these might not seem like the teens you’re talking to buuuut that might be just the teen you experience in that particular situation.

Fun – young people are really funny – silly funny, sometimes pretty witty and even trying their hand on dark humour as they learn about the world around them and the people in it.

Creative – they have so much energy for things that interest them and they’re full of great ideas they may or may not share with you.

Optimistic – young people are mostly optimistic about life because they’re just starting out – most things they are still to experience. Even young people who have already faced multiple challenges in their lives can still see the positive.

Emotional – they have intense emotions and can shift gears pretty quickly, this means moods can lift in minutes and outbursts are forgotten just as quickly.

Social – young people are also really social – but might not seem it around adults, or in situations where they are unsure – just watch when they’re with their friends!

Spontaneous – young people are curious, naturally seeking out new adventures and can be pretty amazing with change. They take risks that we never would – the dangerous kind yes but also risks with life, relationships, school and identity.

Independent – given the right tools and encouragement, young people are actually really capable and can step out to all sorts of responsibilities.

Technologically advanced – do we even need to explain this one? They know everything about technology and think adults are pretty dumb when it comes to this stuff.

Kind – young people can be really kind and empathetic, they genuinely want to help others and care about the world around them. Young people also want to be liked, to succeed and to make us proud.

Loyal – young people will always stand by and stick up for their friends and family – no matter what!

I mean we think this list makes young people pretty amazing to be around – what about you? Would you add more to the list? We are continuously amazed by young people and how they can overcome just about anything!

If you know a young person who is having a difficult time, please shout out for help, there are many resources available including our own phone: 02 8976 1777 or email burdekin.admin@burdekin.org.au, at the Hub, Lifeline, headspace, Kids Helpline and local services listed on the Inner West Council website and Northern Beaches Council website.