Ten members of a mental health advocacy group are living in a transparent cube in the middle of Brisbane for 100 hours.

They call themselves ClearThinking, and they’re trying to increase awareness and funding for young people in need of support.

Ashton Rigg reports.

TRANSCRIPT

For the next four days, these people will call a three-by-three metre cube home.

They are aiming to raise $1,000 each for research into youth mental health.

Young people between 18 and 24 make up the greatest number suffering from mental illness, but fewer than 20 per cent receive professional help.

Stan Catts, Chair of ClearThinking: “There are 150,000 young Queenslanders with a mental health disorder who get no mental health service at all. We’ve got to change that completely.”

What started as a last ditch attempt to attract Government attention has evolved into an annual event.

Melissa Anderson, ClearThinking Volunteer: “In terms of getting a research organisation up and running, donations. We need to have a ground swell of support amongst the community and we also need some financial assistance.”

ClearThinking says $10 million are needed for a combination of clinical services and research, to head off a future mental health crisis.

Almost half of all mental disorders that begin in adolescence have a high risk of progressing into a lifelong disability.

Louise Bellchambers, ClearThinking Volunteer: “For young people I think it’s important that they talk out and we’ve got people in the cube today, that’s their message, just get out there, talk to somebody, try to find a solution to your problem.”

Mental health problems among teenagers often go undiagnosed, masked by other issues such as substance abuse, aggression or antisocial behaviour.

Current statistics show one in three young Australians will experience a mental health problem by the age of 25. The ClearThinking group is hoping to shed light on this issue which is so often left in the dark.

Ashton Rigg, QUT News.