Linking young homeless people to mental health services: An exploration of an outreach clinic at a supported youth accommodation service

Abstract

Recent research has indicated that young people experiencing homelessness live with high rates of psychological distress and mental illness, yet often do not access mental health services due to a number of barriers. Access may be enhanced through greater interagency collaboration, adopting principles of early intervention, outreach and youth cultural competence. The St Vincent’s Hospital Program for Early Intervention and Prevention of Disability (PEIPOD) has implemented these recommendations in an innovative outreach clinic being conducted at Oasis Youth Support Network in Sydney (Oasis). The purpose of this article is to describe the clinic and to present the perspectives of Oasis youth workers and the PEIPOD clinical team arising from focus groups regarding the extent to which the clinic has: (i) facilitated access to mental health services for young people; (ii) provided a positive experience of a mental health service for young people; and (iii) enhanced the capacity for Oasis staff to work with young people living with complex needs and mental illness. This article also reports the results of a fi le audit of all case notes and triage forms for the 29 clients who attended the clinic between January 2010 and January 2011. Findings suggest that the highly transient behaviour of the Oasis clients is a key challenge to linking young people to (mental health) services. This article describes several service strengths, including the close partnership between Oasis and PEIPOD staff and access to a mental health assessment for young people at a youth-friendly location. Recommendations arising from the staff interviews include expanding the outreach clinic model to other service sites, improving handover information from the Oasis youth support staff and involving medical staff in the clinic assessment.