Ruby Riethmuller

Updated March 2026

Youth-friendly mental health support arrives too late or not at all

Globally, one in seven adolescents lives with a mental illness, representing more than 166 million young people. In Australia, where Ruby Riethmuller grew up, three-quarters of mental health conditions develop before age 25, and suicide remains the leading cause of death among young people, including teenagers as young as 15.

Girls and gender-diverse youth face the greatest risk. Many navigate identity, isolation and social pressure with limited access to care. In a country as vast and sparsely populated as Australia, young people in regional, rural and remote communities confront even steeper barriers: long waitlists, high costs, stigma and a shortage of youth-friendly, preventive services.

Ruby knew this reality firsthand. Growing up on a farm as a young LGBTQIA+ woman, she struggled with anxiety and identity despite attending a well-resourced, supportive school. As friends began confiding similar experiences, a clear pattern emerged: help often arrived too late — if it arrived at all.

That realization led Ruby to found Womn-Kind, a mental health education platform designed to “deliver support before it is needed.”

Addressing the silent crisis that undermines potential

Established in 2022, Womn-Kind is built on the guiding belief that support should arrive early, feel accessible and reflect young people’s lived realities. From this foundation, Ruby shaped the model around early intervention, community and authenticity, with a strong focus on reaching young people in regional, rural and remote communities through both digital and in-person support.

Developing Womn-Kind’s social wellness app was a defining moment. Lacking technical expertise, Ruby faced a steep learning curve and challenges attracting finance. However, her background in marketing and visual communications carried her through. With no capital to launch the app, she and her team funded its development by designing and selling hoodies, reinvesting every dollar into the platform. Each obstacle forced a creative solution and reinforced the importance of persistence and teamwork.

The app now offers a safe, welcoming space that blends accredited expert guidance with peer-led content, making mental health support both credible and relatable. Womn-Kind extends this approach into schools and youth organizations through in-person workshops, all co-designed with youth ambassadors and a leadership panel of girls and young women with lived experience of mental health challenges.

Crucially, Womn-Kind looks beyond crisis response. By fostering healthy habits, emotional literacy, help-seeking and confidence, the platform supports young people in building foundations that support long-term well-being, leadership and belonging.

“Our vision goes beyond short-term care,” Ruby explains. “We’re building a future where early intervention is embedded and well-being is something young people invest in every day.”

Building impact that lasts

Since inception, Womn-Kind has supported more than 35,000 young people across Australia and 37 countries, with 60% living in regional, rural and remote communities. Today, more than 7,000 young people engage with the platform every day. Of those, 96% report improved wellbeing, while 93% say Womn-Kind has strengthened their help-seeking behaviors and mental health literacy — signs not just of short-term relief, but of skills that endure.

The effects extend beyond individuals. Research shows that early-intervention well-being support can reduce reliance on crisis services, such as emergency hospital visits, by 10–25%. In 2024 alone, Womn-Kind helped generate an estimated $350,000 USD in public health cost savings, with projections rising to more than $13 million USD by 2028 as the platform scales toward its goal of reaching two million young people worldwide.

As Ruby puts it, “If we can help young people build confidence, language and self-trust early, we don’t just change outcomes — we change trajectories. That’s how real, generational impact begins.”