Doorknocking for mental health: evaluating a novel outreach approach for addressing mental health

This evaluation report was prepared by the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) for Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA), and presents evaluation findings related to the ACDC Project’s effectiveness and impact on participants and communities. The ACDC Project objectives were: to connect with people, including with people not currently engaged with services and supports, or with people who were hardly reached; to increase awareness and provide information about mental health supports and services through conversations and information products; to build the skills and capacity of local services and communities to conduct outreach through doorknocking; and, to build community capacity (for local services and other stakeholders) to better understand and meet their community’s specific needs. The overall aim of the ACDC Project was to promote community-wide awareness of mental health, increase mental health literacy, and normalise conversations about mental health, helping to widen engagement in mental health services across diverse social groups, and potentially increase access to support for those who need it most.