By Kerri-Anne Mesner
YOUNG people from Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong and Wyndham municipalities have started slowly taking up the opportunity to receive help for mental health issues.
More than 80 youth have attended sessions at the newly opened Western Melbourne Headspace youth mental health centre in Sunshine in the Visy Care Hub Centre.
Western Melbourne Headspace manager Nick Prendergast said the centre had been seeing a steady stream of young people visiting the centre since it officially opened at the end of November.
He said that within the first few weeks of opening, the centre had seen up to 30 young people.
The Western Melbourne Headspace site was the first in Melbourne and one of the first 10 sites established across Australia.
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced last Tuesday at the Sunshine site a $19 million package for 20 more sites — including three in Victoria — in Gippsland, on the Peninsula and in the North Melbourne areas.
Ms Roxon said grants of up to $1 million would be provided to 20 communities to establish local headspace youth mental health services.
She said the 20 communities had committed to a major overhaul of their existing health services to benefit young people with mental health and associated drug and alcohol problems.
“Mental health is one of the most important health issues affecting young Australians today,” Ms Roxon said.
“One in four young people aged 12 to 25 will experience a mental health problem in any 12 month period.”
The focus of Headspace is to provide free or low cost services to young people for mental health issues with access to a wide range of health professions including general practitioners, mental health workers, drug and alcohol and vocational support services.
Headspace Foundation executive committee chair Professor Patrick McGorry said the challenge for all headspace sites now was to attract skilled staff.
Mr Prendergast said like much of the health sector there was a shortage of staff in the mental health area.
He said the Western Melbourne Headspace currently has GPs, occupational therapists, social workers, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.
Mr Prendergast said the Sunshine site was still looking for more staff.
