Young people in the Whitsundays region now have better access to mental health support thanks to a new headspace centre in the Whitsundays.
headspace Whitsundays provides free, confidential health services to young people aged 12-25 with key focus areas of mental health, alcohol and other drugs, education and employment support, and physical and sexual health.
The service is located on Main Street in Proserpine and operates three days a week, removing the need for families to have to travel to Mackay or Townsville to receive mental health support.
headspace Mackay will act as the parent centre to headspace Whitsundays, overseeing its operational management. Northern Australia Primary Health Limited (NAPHL) operates all three services in the region – Mackay, Sarina, and now Whitsundays - and is funded by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) through the Australian Government’s PHN Program.
NAPHL CEO Luke Guazzo is proud to be delivering this facility to the young people of the Whitsundays.
“This service will add to the important mental health services that NAPHL is already providing through headspace Mackay and headspace Sarina,” said Mr Guazzo.
“The headspace Whitsundays facility is first class and is operated by experienced clinicians who have conducted their training through headspace Mackay and have already integrated into the community.”
NQPHN CEO Robin Whyte is confident that the new Whitsundays satellite service will have a great impact on the local community.
“Mental health is the single biggest health issue facing young Australians and the Whitsundays region is no different,” said Ms Whyte.
“The effectiveness of the headspace model has been proven around the country, and we are confident that headspace Whitsundays will help to improve mental health outcomes for young people in the region.
“We are proud to work with both NAPHL and headspace to bring this important service to the Whitsundays, and it’s great to be able to come together today to celebrate with our stakeholders.”
headspace CEO Jason Trethowan said the Whitsundays satellite was already proving to be a vital service for its local community. “headspace is proud to support young people in the Whitsundays to live happy, healthy lives,” he said.
“With 75 per cent of mental health issues developing before the age of 25, we understand how important early intervention mental health supports are for young people.
“It’s especially important that young Australians in rural and remote areas of our country have access to these services on their help-seeking journey.”
The headspace Whitsundays service model and building were developed in consultation with the Whitsundays community, the Steering Committee, and the headspace Whitsundays Youth Reference Group, which consisted of young people from Collinsville, Bowen, Proserpine, Cannonvale, and Hamilton Island.
The headspace Whitsundays will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Walk-ins are encouraged but, due to the ever-evolving situation with COVID-19, headspace asks that anyone in the community wishing to use the service should call prior to arrival to ensure the most appropriate delivery mode for them. Please call the service on (07) 4842 6760 for more information.