The challenge of our times

Young people today have tremendous opportunities, however are also exposed to an overwhelming array of pressures, expectations and problems that are part of living in our complex modern world. Approximately 9% of young Australians aged 16-24 years are assessed as having high or very high levels of psychological distress, and one in four has experienced a mental disorder in the past 12 months. The findings are consistent – mental illness affects a disproportionately large number of young people, and with mental health playing a significant part in their immediate and long term quality of life, these figures are alarming.

Mental illness represents a significant challenge of our times – if we are to truly make a difference for our youth, we need to actively pursue the prevention of mental illness, as well as engage in activities that help young people better look after their mental health. This requires improving detection and management of mental illness as well as increasing access to programs and supports that enable young people with a mental illness to live happy and meaningful lives.

What we do

Generation Next fills a critical gap, working towards preventing mental illness and encouraging improved management by adopting a holistic approach that focuses on key stakeholders.

  • We engage with professionals who work most closely with young people and thus are ideally positioned to have a positive impact on their mental health, providing education, interventions and resources to increase understanding of mental illness and treatment options.
  • We work with young people across Australia, providing them with skills and knowledge to increase their mental health literacy and better position them to look after their mental health and prevent the onset of mental illness.
  • We inform the community, increasing awareness of mental illness in young people and how they can better support them to recovery and maintain good mental health.
  • We undertake research to support out activities, ensuring that our work is underpinned by a solid evidence base.

Generation Next enables our youth to become resilient, mentally healthy and actively involved in furthering the wellbeing of our communities.