People living in the Mareeba Shire and Atherton Tablelands regions who are feeling overwhelmed and stressed out will soon have a new kind of community support to turn to. 

Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) is pleased to announce Mareeba Community Centre and Beacon Strategies will deliver Distress Brief Support, a community-based trial designed to help people navigate life’s everyday pressures - before it gets too much. 

North Queensland is one of only two Queensland sites selected as part of a national trial, the other being in Ipswich. 

NQPHN CEO Ben Tooth said Distress Brief Support wasn’t a traditional mental health or suicide prevention service or program. 

“Through extensive consultation, we heard that community members reached out to family, friends, and social networks or groups when they were stressed, rather than using traditional services,” Mr Tooth said. 

“Distress Brief Support is about connection to community support for people who might not walk into a formal service, but would turn up to a barbecue, sewing club, or Men’s Shed, where conversations naturally happen. 

“This approach has been codesigned with community organisations and community members, and we are pleased to work with Mareeba Community Centre and Beacon Strategies, so people can get support from their communities through their everyday interactions.” 

Distress Brief Support includes two elements: 

• Community engagement points, which offer immediate compassionate support, and, 

• A short-term team that provides support for up to three weeks and connections to longer-term services if needed. 

Mareeba Community Centre Inc will deliver the short-term support across the communities. 

CEO Julie Theakston said the short-term support team would link people with support services and other resources to assist them as they navigated everyday life challenges. 

“We look forward to engaging in a non-clinical, person-centred, and holistic way with people across the Atherton Tablelands and Mareeba areas who are experiencing distress. 

“We’re excited to be working with NQPHN on this project.” 

Through consultation, the importance of support to those in the community who are key engagement points was heard strongly. With this in mind, Beacon Strategies has been engaged to support the community engagement points to confidently refer people to the short-term support team. 

CEO Mitch Stalker said: “Strengthening the capacity of these local touchpoints is essential in addressing distress because it can’t be left to mental health and suicide prevention services alone. 

“We know from community feedback that local knowledge and trust are central to making this project work. That’s why we are employing locally. 

“We want to ensure the support provided to community engagement points is grounded in local context, relationships, and insight, and reflects what the community has told NQPHN they value most. 

“We’re excited to work with NQPHN and connect with a wide range of local groups, whether they’re neighbourhood centres, sporting clubs, or healthcare providers, so they can offer meaningful support to people experiencing distress.” 

Recruitment for the local positions is under way with service delivery expected to begin in the coming months. 

Distress Brief Support is funded through the Department of Health, Disability, and Ageing and Queensland Health.

More information about the initiative can be found on here.