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Youth Health | October 18, 2018

Liberal Nationals support outreach fund for headspace services

The Nationals Member for Lowan and Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Emma Kealy has announced that an elected Liberal Nationals Government will support headspace to expand their youth mental health and support services with a new $1.14 million outreach fund.

“headspace offers critical support to young people aged 12 to 25 experiencing mental health or drug and alcohol issues but for young people living in rural or remote Victoria, services can be out of reach,” Ms Kealy said.

“This fund will be a huge help to our amazing headspace teams to reach the young people that need their support and services the most but for a variety of reasons can’t make it to their closest headspace.

“Locally this means more support for our Horsham and Warrnambool headspace Centres to expand their services into our local communities, making sure our young people have access to headspace’s important mental health services and get the help they need – regardless of where they live.

“Programs could include regular outreach health services in communities without a permanent headspace Centre or social events for young people.

“I’m proud to be part of a Liberal Nationals Government that will put the health of our young people first, boosting support by funding much-needed headspace outreach services across the state.”

One in four young people have experienced a mental health issue in the past 12 months – a higher prevalence than all other age groups.

Research shows that 75 per cent of mental health issues emerge before the age of 25. By treating these issues early and providing a holistic model of support, the risk of it developing into a more serious problem is greatly reduced.