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A young person talking to a worker holding a clipboard, wearing a headscarf

In 2024 to 2025, YDAS and YACVic Rural used co-design to try and improve intake and discharge for disabled young people in the mental health care system. The project's goal is to try and make intake and discharge at mental health services feel more safe and inclusive. The project is supported by the Victorian Department of Health. 

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We worked with:

  • 10 disabled young rural and regional co-designers with lived experience of the mental health system.
  • 14 regional and rural mental health services.
  • 78 regional and rural mental health workers.
  • Including Headspace, Wellways, drug and alcohol, and youth services across Warrnambool and Swan Hill.

Booklet and reports

Icon Print Mockup of the YDAS In and Out booklet Icon Digital Mockup of the YDAS In and Out booklet Icon of the YDAS in and Out Outline Icon of the YDAS in and Out Executive Summary
Download the demo print version
of the In and Out Booklet 		Download the demo digital version
of the In and Out Booklet 		Download the demo outline
of the In and Out Booklet 		Download the Executive Summary
of the In and Out project.

We co-created a:

These resources are a proof of concept. They draw from existing resources, language and imagery designed for different contexts. You are welcome to use them but know that YDAS cannot guarantee they will be effective in the field. We recommend you seek your own advice.

–In and Out

You can also read our mid-point interim report covering the discovery phase of the project:

Project story

The problem: Disabled young people in regional and rural Victoria face major barriers accessing mental health services, with poorly designed intake and discharge processes. Complex forms, inaccessible systems, ableism and low disability-inclusion literacy cause harm, re-traumatisation and reduced trust. YDAS and YACVic worked with disabled young people and mental health workers from regional Victoria to redesign these processes through the In and Out project, funded by the Department of Health’s Diverse Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Grants program and delivered by a dedicated project team.

What we did: We engaged 10 disabled young rural co-designers with lived experience of the mental health system’s intake and discharge processes. Supported by YDAS youth workers, we ran a discovery process to learn about the challenges of the mental health system, then a design process to try and solve the top problems the co-designers identified as important to them. We also sought the input of mental health workers from regional and rural Victoria. They told us about their experiences helping young people, and helped validate or add nuance to what our co-designers said.

What we learned:

  • Consumers have to retell traumatising experiences too often.
  • Intake workers are not properly trained in disability inclusion.
  • There is a lack of information before a stay, and referrals and follow-up from service providers post-discharge.

The solution: Co-designers determined that a booklet would be the best solution. It should provide disabled young people and workers the information they need to prepare for a stay. This includes rights, privacy, communication, accessibility and what to expect, bringing the unstated or assumed to the surface. Our young co-designers drew from existing YDAS resources to draft an outline of the booklet. This was tested with workers, who again validated and added nuance around design, distribution and implementation, including the challenges they predicted we’d face.

Why we think it will work: Workers said the most valuable parts of the booklet were the practical tools (like access needs, intake and discharge checklists). They want to adapt them to their own services or pull out parts of the booklet for specific use cases. Workers strongly supported helping young people understand their rights, build health literacy, and have more shared decision-making in their care. Workers also acknowledged gaps in their own disability knowledge and wanted training to better support disabled young people.

Workers confirmed what young people had already told us: that mental health systems are confusing, and that clear, accessible information and support to speak up about access and care needs is essential for feeling safe and in control of their care.

Workers validated our ability to deliver this workbook digitally and in-person, with no safety or ethical barriers. Instead, the main barrier was ensuring all the services, especially client facing staff, are given the information, booklet and training to use it effectively in the field.

What happens next:

  • Please share the report, executive summary, booklet outline and protype, and long-term plan with people in and around the sector. We need people to understand what disabled young people need, and workers to see and get value from the project.
  • We seek year 3 funding to implement the booklet into the mental health care system and measure its efficacy.

Thank you to our disabled young co-designers (whose name we have withheld for privacy) for their time and expertise they so willing shared about some of the most difficult experiences that have ever had to face.  This work is for you and all future young people that go through the system, so they do not have to face the same challenges that you did. Nothing about us without us!

Thank you

Thank you to the communities in Swan Hill and Warrnambool for sharing their experiences and expertise. Including workers from:

  • headspace Swan Hill
  • headspace Warrnambool
  • headsapce Hamilton
  • Youth Inc. Swan Hill
  • WRAD Health
  • Wellways Warrnambool, Kula Bim (Youth Residential Rehabilitation)
  • Wellways Swan Hill and Mildura
  • My Plan Connect Swan Hill
  • Brophy Warrnambool
  • Swan Hill Rural City Council
  • FLO Specialist Education, Swan Hill College
  • Mind over Matter
  • Swan Hill District Youth Service Network Meeting

Thank you to Youth Affairs Council Victoria’s Rural team. Without YACVic Rural’s ongoing connections and relationships to their regions, we would not have been able to speak with so many fabulous mental health workers.

  • Derm Ryan, Head of YACVic Rural
  • Karen Walsh, Rural Development Coordinator, Great South Coast
  • Rhiannon Jennings, Rural Development Coordinator, Southern Mallee

Thank you to the Victorian Government, Department of Health and the Diverse Communities Menta Health and Wellbeing Grants Program team for funding and supporting this project.

Thank you to Blend Creative for the prototype booklet and checklist format. Your dedication to designers and illustrators with lived experience is the perfect fit.

And thank you to the Youth Disability Advocacy Service team who made this project what it is.

  • Finlaey Hewlett, In and Out Coordinator
  • Zoe Dorrity, In and Out Coordinator
  • Ren Sumner, Programs Facilitator
  • Em Dewhurst, Programs Facilitator
  • Bridget Jolley, Programs Facilitator
  • Iona Harmony, Transitions Officer
  • Heather Ryan, Human Rights Advocacy Manger
  • Ace Thomson, Programs Officer
  • Simon Green, Programs Manager
  • The YDAS and YACVic leadership and corporate services team, who keep our organisation running!