Gunnedah Shire Council youth development officer Sewa Emojong was among a group campaigning to bring the services to the town.

“After consulting with the community and our young people, there seemed to be a gap in services for young people at-risk wanting to access mental health services,” Ms Emojong said.

The youth officer facilitates the Gunnedah Youth Council and said creating a service accessible to all youth is a positive step for the town.

“For young people confidentiality is a big issue, particularly when seeking help,” she said.

“The great thing about it is it caters for young people from 12 up to 25, so it is also accessible to people who have finished school. During those crucial years of moving into adulthood when youth can feel quite alone, Headspace will be a great help.”

Gunnedah High School’s deputy principal Rebecca Maybury has helped spearhead bringing youth mental health to the forefront of the school.

“Through some of the conversations we have had with health providers we work closely with, we thought it would be great to have access to this service [Headspace] locally,” she said.

“We currently have a counselling service and school psychologist, which is shared between schools, but it’s not an every day service. 

“And while it’s a good service, Headspace will be external to the school, which gives the kids another option.”

Ms Maybury said mental health services are crucial to rural communities.

“Having access to services in smaller country towns is vital to the wellbeing of everyone. When setting up health seeking strategies for young people, it’s really important it’s there for them forever. Gunnedah High is really focusing on supporting kids and making sure they realise that there is that support out there. Headspace will be a great resource to have in our community.”