Thanks to your compassionate support, more young people, bearing the weight of caring responsibilities, can access safe spaces for vital connection, respite and creativity.
This is what you’ve helped make possible!
I’m excited to share with you the impact you’re having on the lives of young carers – like Alison – and so many more young people we work with daily.
Thank you for being part of this. This is your impact.
Go gently,
Rose Cuff, AM (she/her)
Founder & CEO, Satellite Foundation
Here is your short video from Alison sharing her powerful story:
The kindness and dedication you show through your ongoing support is helping make real and measurable change – like this – in the lives of children and young people. Thank you.
How your generosity is already helping to change lives!
Your generosity is helping to fight stigma around mental health for primary and secondary aged kids and open opportunities for creative discussion and learning.
Your life-changing gift is helping to provide young carers with pathways for learning, professional experience and employment opportunities often missed due to caring responsibilities.
Thank you !
Day-by-day your support is making a world of difference for children and young people impacted by family mental health challenges.
A life-changing gift for Alison
Wonderful people like you have rallied around and made some incredible things possible.
You might remember that when 19-year-old Alison connected with Satellite she was desperate and carrying incredible responsibility as the sole carer for her younger sister who was battling life threatening mental health challenges.
“Before Satellite I felt so alone. There weren’t any supports for me, and if there were, I didn’t know how to access them.”
But thanks to generous support from compassionate people like you, things are very different today.
“When I first connected with Satellite it felt like a breath of fresh air. And it was kind of a breath that I hadn’t realised I was holding onto so tightly.”
For Alison this was a life-changing moment.
Being able to access a network of mental health support made a meaningful difference in Alison’s life. Through this focus on peer support, she connected with other young people who shared similar experiences. It gave her a much-needed break from the heaviness of her daily responsibilities — a chance to grow, laugh, and process her experiences creatively.
“Going to the camps and programs really helped me build a self-identity outside of the caring role.”
“I feel really heard and that’s a special thing to experience.”
As her caring responsibilities lightened Alison was able to go to university – a dream she’d put on hold – and pursue her passion for writing.
Today Alison is an important voice as part of Satellite’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) – using her lived experience to shape how Satellite works with other children and young people.
“Satellite have provided a lot of opportunities that have opened that world back up to me again.”
Alison also proudly represents Satellite at various events, sharing her insights and experiences.
It’s thanks to generous people like you who were there when it counted – Alison’s life is so different today. This is your impact.
“[This] has shown me that I’m not alone. I just felt like I’ve become more of a whole person again.”
Approximately, 9,000 young people in Victoria are caring for an adult with mental illness*.
In reality, the number is much higher, as many young people take on caring roles that often go unnoticed or unrecorded.
Your donation today will help these children and young people impacted by family mental health challenges find the connection and support they need to thrive.
YES! I’d like to give a gift to help more young carers today.
Donate* Source: Reupert, A., Foster, K., Nandakumar, N., Hine, R., Freeman, N., Lea, S., Patlamazoglou, L., Poynton, K., Ravi, A., Hanneberry, M. Saad, R., & Healy, D. (2024). Lapsing report for the Satellite Foundation. Monash University & Australian Catholic University.
