YOUNG people in Gunnedah are set to benefit from a new mental health service targeted at kids from the bush.
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The town is one of four communities in the North West that will benefit from a Headspace Youth Centre with a roll-out to begin in the next year.
In Tamworth on Monday, Member for Parkes Mark Coulton, supported by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, announced the roll-out of four Headspace centres in Gunnedah, Moree, Narrabri and Armidale.
The centres provide mental health and social support for young people aged between 12 and 25 years old.
Mr Coulton said he’d been working with people in his electorate, including Gunnedah and Moree about the need for a Headspace centre in those areas.
He said the services would also impact on the mental wellbeing of youth in outlying areas.
“Not only to service those regional centres but the other towns like Wee Waa, Boggabri and Mungindi, because quite often the issues that young people face can be exasperated if you put those into a situation of remoteness and lack of services generally,” Mr Coulton said.
“These new Headspaces will deliver front-line services and coordinate the right interventions for at-risk young people.”
Primary Health Network CEO for the Hunter, New England and Central Coast Richard Nankervis said there was an identified need for more youth health services in the area.
“We were very pleased to be able to help coordinate this application for additional funding from the federal government to support local communities, particularly around young people’s mental health,” he said.
“It’s come up as a significant issue, identified through our local needs assessment work and consultations across the region. It’s about local communities, meeting local need for us.”
Mr Joyce paid tribute to those who worked at the “coalface” of mental health in the community and said the additional services meant more youth could benefit.
“So many of us have a story, if they’ve worked through themselves or through a family member trying to deal with mental health issues,” he said.
“It’s incredible that we have the capacity now that we have about $2.6 million for this area and that helps us roll out in Gunnedah, Narrabri, Armidale and Moree so they too can work in with what we have here in Tamworth.”
The Headspace centres are part of a $28.9 million for an additional ten centres across the nation.