Support

If you or someone you know is in crisis and requires emergency support, please call 000.

For non-urgent support, use Ask Izzy or browse the list of services below (you can click on each service to head to their website).

Government services

The Carer Gateway is the Australian government portal for federal government support.

Merri Health is Victoria’s leading Carer Gateway Service. It supports carers with the flexible, individualised help they need.

Carers Victoria is the state government portal for state government support services. They also offer a range of useful training workshops for carers and those who support carers – many of them online.

Darebin City Council offers a range of services and discounts for Carers. Do you have your Carer Card yet?

Non-government services

Lifeline provides compassionate support for people in crisis over the phone or online, any time of the day or night. Phone 13 11 14, text 0477 13 11 14, or online chat.

Anxiety Recovery Centre (ARCVic) offers support, recovery and educational services to people and families living with anxiety disorders. Call the OCD and Anxiety Helpline on 1300 269 438 or 03 9830 0533. Monday to Friday, 10am-8:30pm.

Creative Art Therapy Australia (CATA) positively empowers and impacts the lives of people braving trauma.  CATA believes creative processes can shift thinking to positive and healthy mindsets. They work with children, adolescents, families and communities braving physical, psychological and emotional trauma. CATA is aligned and partnered with local hospitals, hospices, schools and organisations working with people facing adversity.

CAREinMIND Wellbeing Support Service provides free phone and online counselling for people who live, work or study in north, west or central Melbourne. No referral is needed. Call 1300 096 269 at any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you need an interpreter, please call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) first on 131 450.

Headspace provides free online and telephone support and counselling to young people, aged 12 – 25 years, and their families and friends. If you’re based in Australia and going through a tough time, Headspace can help. Young people 12-25 years old can visit Headspace for free online support or call 1800 650 890.

Kids Helpline allows young people up to 25 years old to call 1800 55 1800 or chat online for support at any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Mind is one of the country’s leading community-managed specialist mental health service providers with a range of residential, mobile outreach, centre based and online services. Mind has been supporting people living with the day-to-day impacts of mental illness, as well as their families, friends and carers for over 40 years.

Mirabel Foundation offers respite care for Kinship Carers – mostly weekends, school holiday camps and so on. It is the only organisation in Australia specifically addressing the needs of children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental illicit drug use and are now in the care of extended family.

Pathways for Carers project offers carers of people with a disability or mental illness an opportunity to attend walking events in Victoria together and to learn more about news, services, and supports available to carers.

Rainbow Door is a free specialist LGBTIQA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Gender Diverse, Intersex, Queer, Asexual, BrotherBoys, SisterGirls) helpline providing information, support, and referral to all LGBTIQA+ Victorians.

SuicideLine Victoria is a free 24/7 telephone, video and online counselling service offering professional support to people at risk of suicide, people concerned about someone else’s risk of suicide, people bereaved by suicide and anyone experiencing mental health issues.

Tandem is the Victorian peak body representing family and friends supporting people living with mental health issues.

Yarning Safe’n’Strong is a free and confidential counselling service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, available to people and families who need to have a yarn with someone about their wellbeing. Available any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 1800 959 563.

Out Doors Inc. has been providing outdoor adventure and recreational programs for better mental health for more than 30 years. Programs include bushwalking, bike riding, rafting, hiking, cross-country skiing, rock climbing & abseiling, surfing, and creative programs like bush art and music as a means of providing rehabilitation, skill development and integration in the community.

Red Cross Community Services have a range of community support services including support for First Nations people, homelessness solutions, those needing aged care and NDIS services. Call 1800 733 276.