Human Service - Richmond Fellowship - Essay Writing Assessment Answer

Human Service Assignment

Assignment Task

Human Service

Introduction

Certain services and information are resources that have a significant effect on the wellbeing of an individual. Therefore, the ability to effectively find information on the services and information on behalf of a person can be powerful, especially finding these resources that are consistent with evidenced-based practice. The following academic essay is an evaluation of the information provided by an agency dealing with certain human services.

Headspace Purpose

Headspace provides early intervention for mental health services targeting young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years old along with assisting them in promoting their wellbeing. It concentrates its services in four key areas - the mental and physical health, work and study support, and alcohol and drug services (headspace, 2016). The website provides places emphasis on providing succinct information on its core responsibilities that can aid any individual in the group finding help and being led to the right pace. However, it also fails in this attempt because the services that it offers are not included. For example, the type of physical health services and interventions it offers are not listed in its purpose making it a challenge to determine whether it has the necessary specialists to handle all mental health cases, or they are referred to more capable institutions.

Mental health, in particular among the youth is a growing concern in Australia with one in five young people having experienced some form of mental health issue. Statistics and research to uncover the mental health issue show that three in four mental health conditions among adults emerge by age twenty-four. Furthermore, mental health encompasses a multitude of issues, for example, depression, anxiety conditions, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and drugs among others (Torrey, Bond, McHugo, & Swain, 2012). Among the youth, the most common mental health issues are stress, school or study problems and body image problems which negatively impact their overall wellbeing. Therefore, there is a greater need to address the underlying issue of these issues within the society to deter any future consequences that may arise such as suicides. Unfortunately, suicide resulting from mental health kills more youths than car accidents.

Services provided and the client groups

The primary focus of Headspace is the young generation ranging between 12 to 25 years old who are at greater risk of mental health problem in Australia. It aims to accomplish this by focusing on four key areas that have a significant impact on mental health. These areas are physical health, mental health, alcohol and drug services, and providing work and study program. For example, under depression – it provides the necessary symptoms of how the condition manifests in a young person, and it provides other valuable information about how a person may seek help, for example, from a counsellor, teacher or guardian (headspace, 2016). The website has placed a greater emphasis on this issue because it is a causality of suicide and self-harm and has provided enough information on how to seek help from their nearest centre and seeking help online.

The headspace has its strength in providing meaningful ways of handling the different mental health issues that affect the youth. The website also contains all comprehensive information that is required for an individual to understand the various types of mental health issues, how it affects them, and the various mental issues it has on an individual. Furthermore, the website provides numerous ways through which individuals can seek help to deal with the mental issues. However, the website falls short on various issues such as lacking the necessary information of how the intervention is undertaken because it only provides comprehensive information on how the different issues affect an individual mentally and physically. The information could be more resourceful, impactful and influential if it had the necessary approaches to intervene and encourage people mental issues to seek intervention.

In handling mental health issues among the youth various methods has been proposed with a particular involvement of the individual’s family. For example, parents are given information concerning the various mental issues that affect young family members, and they are taught the necessary coping skills (Torrey, Bond, McHugo, & Swain, 2012). These skills are taught by a care given, and it helps in forging partnerships between the families, the caregivers, and the individual. Helping families cope with the youth mental health is an effective treatment approach that involves giving care to a person within the environment that he or she belongs. It has been shown to increase the quality of care, improves holistic treatment and increases the contact hours between the individual and the caregivers. Such a strategy is especially effective in handling depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol and drugs abuse. Furthermore, it is a patient-centred approach that creates a pragmatic, and a structured manner of intervention.

Employment is also a mechanism whereby individuals reduce their mental health symptoms. Mental health issues are prevalent particularly to those who are idle or lack employment (Torrey, Bond, McHugo, & Swain, 2012). Therefore, employment provides an individual with a sense of purpose improves the wellbeing and presents an opportunity to establish a daily routine in the day to day lives of individuals. It also provides an opportunity to socialize with others creating a sense of community. As earlier stated, communities are a source of wellbeing and holistic care.

Organisation structure and funding

Headspace is an initiative that was established and is funded by the Australian government under the Department of Health. It was formed after the implementation of the National Youth Mental Health Foundation (Headspace, 2007). Based on its 2014 financial reports, Headspace receives a majority of its funding from the Government while the rest is from its fundraising activities. Headspace was formed by stakeholders that ensure the accountability of the organization. Furthermore, it appoints professionals with different qualifications to handle the diversity of the Australian population. For example, it provides professional help to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and it has been making a significant improvement in their mental health. Apart from professional employees, Headspace also has individuals that volunteer their services to the service. Such employees include the ambassadors, for example, Dylan Lewis, the television and radio presenter.

The organization structure of Headspace was the challenging to find because it is not easily available and one has to go through the entirety of the website to find it. Moreover, it has provided little to know information regarding its historical progress since its formation which makes it hard to determine its progress and past activities. In determining the source of funding, one has to be able to read its financial report to determine the amount (headspace, 2014). This may not be disadvantageous to some, but it leaves a considerable number of people disenfranchised.

Conclusion

Human service agencies provide vital services to a group of individuals who may need to make impactful changes. For example, Headspace provides valuable services to young adults between the ages of 12 and 25-year-olds regarding mental health. The above essay has looked at the Headspace website with the intention of analysing the information that is available. It has examined, evaluated and discussed its purpose, the services offered and the organization structure. The agency provides various evidence-based practices such as providing care within communities and offering work study programs as a means of mental health prevention.