Driving is freedom.
Mental illness can be crippling. It can sap the will to engage with the outside world, turning you in on yourself. The only thing you feel capable of? Laying in bed.
Within our community, driving is an escape from that downward emotional spiral. It’s a movement beyond the walls of your mind, a focus on enjoying your vehicle and of connecting with the idiosyncratic traits that make it yours. It engages your senses.
Because that’s what driving can do for people like us. It gets us out of bed. It encourages us to reconnect with ourselves and others. It give you the headspace to seek further help. Essentially, it brings freedom.
What we do
We deliver regular motoring events and a support community, which offer a non-confrontational and judgement free opportunity for people to connect with others and feel comfortable to talk about what's going on for them.
We Prompt Action
Inspiration through exclusive motoring-themed events to encourage reconnection.
We want to help before it’s too late.
We Start Conversations
We share in peoples’ stories: online, in-person and at-event. We foster a relaxed, judgement-free environment to facillitate this.
Keynote speakers provide additional information and support.
Our social media presence furthers our sense of community.
Print and online media amplifies our message.
We Continue The Conversation
By steering our community to a holistic range of health services via our Mental Wellness Network.
The numbers
Australians aged between 16 and 85 years saw a mental health professional in 2020-21.
People have engaged us at a drive event in 2019
Enables us to engage someone in a conversation that could change a life
Events
Get involved with one of our upcoming events.
Latest News & Blog
Introducing: DAD Local Legends
The last two years have seen us pivot, redesign, rethink and reschedule more than ever before. Buzz words became a way of life. And while some of those now omnipresent
Surviving high school with cars
I’m Niko. Growing up, cars where always a passion of mine, they made sense to me and I had huge respect for the mechanical complexity of highly-strung performance cars and
Tarmac Rallying: ‘Racing’ a Lexus GS F
Peter Anderson from The Redline describes how he used a V8-powered Lexus Sedan to compete in the Drive Against Depression Tarmac Rally Tour.
ATRC with Drive Against Depression
A fantastic and very personal feature written by Matt Brogan, Road Test Editor at the Carsales Network. Matt joined us for the Mount Baw Baw Sprint Tour and lived our
DAD in Rally Sport Mag
Brendan Reeves was our special guest at the 2019 Mount Baw Baw Sprint, mentoring the Tour drivers throughout the weekend. https://rallysportmag.com/reeves-heads-mt-baw-baw-sprint-entry/
Age-old battle at 2018 Snowy River Sprint
Hiding behind the fanfare of AFL preliminary finals weekend, the Australian Tarmac Rally Championship kicked off its 2018-19 campaign with the Snowy River Sprint, held over 22-23 September. Based in the Gippsland