Support Act launches industry-first mental health, wellbeing survey

Music charity Support Act wants to know if you are okay?

The not-for-profit has partnered with the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne to launch the first-ever Mental Health and Wellbeing in Music and Live Performing Arts survey.

Support Act hopes to capture an updated picture of the mental health and wellbeing of people working in music and live performing arts in Australia.

The results will help the charity shape its future services and programs, according to a statement.

The survey is open now to anyone who works in the industry. This includes musicians, songwriters, live production crew, artist managers, producers, and live performing artists.

The findings will be announced at Support Act’s Head First conference, discussing mental health and wellbeing for the music industry on Wednesday, May 25.

Support Act’s CEO Clive Miller (pictured, above) said the organisation has witnessed a shift in recent times.

“Our attitudes toward mental health and wellbeing have changed dramatically in the past few years,” he said, “as have the number of people who have accessed Support Act’s Crisis Relief Grants, Helpline and mental health prevention, education and training programs.

“As we start to plan for a future where good mental health and wellbeing are at the heart of everything we do, we realised there was an urgent need to gather updated evidence about the current state of play, what supports are helpful, and what other supports may be needed,” he added.

Miller also said he hopes everyone in the sector can take 15 to 30 minutes to complete the anonymous survey.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing in Music and Live Performing Arts survey is open now, and closes April 7.

A summary of the results will also be made publicly available on the Support Act website.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.