Whilst youth mental health services appear to embrace diversity and inclusion, they are not historically designed with a ‘culture’ of cultural responsiveness at their core. This was confirmed by the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System which found that diverse communities experience many barriers to good mental health.

The Better Together Project was developed at a youth mental health service to address barriers that their local community are facing when seeking mental health support. A short-term partnership with a statewide transcultural mental health service, that advocates strongly for cultural safety, assisted with the development of the project.

This presentation describes the activities undertaken during the project including localised needs assessment, staff training and quality improvement activities. Several enabling factors are identified and described: collaboration, engagement, innovation, and supported workforce. Challenges to project implementation and success included both systemic and organisational factors.

Evaluation of the project has included staff surveys showing improvement in workforce skills and confidence. Qualitative data indicates that there has been a shift in workplace that has led to a culturally responsive lens being embedded into the site’s culture.

Project outcomes will continue to be evaluated into the future and will include seeking feedback from community members.