ONE in four young Australians aged between 16 and 24 will experience a mental disorder in any given year. Three-quarters of all mental health issues exhibits itself in those under the age of 25.
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The campaign for a service like Headspace in Goulburn dates back more than a decade.
It’s an issue that has seen the community band together in the toughest of times and work towards a united solution.
“It’s been 12 years of the coming of a service like this,” Chairman of the Goulburn and District Suicide Prevention Network and Director of Anglicare Simon Bennett said on Wednesday morning.
Mr Bennett has been a long-time advocate of the cause. He penned his first letter to government in 2002, highlighting Goulburn’s need for a youth targeted mental health program.
“My first letter to our now Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated Goulburn was the fifth highest in NSW of suicide in young people, when we had a spate of 14 deaths in a matter of three weeks,” he said.
“This is about our young people, this is about our future. It’s about supporting local avenues of prevention and intervention and stopping young people from taking their lives. We are going to stop this as a community.”
He is just one of many dedicated to making a change – from local businesses to grassroots organisations.
This year alone the City has hosted a Mates Rate rugby day, a Walk For Hope, a youth forum and R U Ok Day events. A youth app has been launched and countless meetings held as the community searched for a solution.
Now, after years of “no”, the government has said “yes”.
“I don’t think since I’ve been mayor of this city have I seen such a determined group of people to want to continue the cause,” Goulburn Mulwaree Mayor Geoff Kettle said.
“Sometimes you see groups come and groups go, (the youth mental health forum group) has come and stayed and is very determined. I’m sure we will deliver what we need in this City so that everybody can look around and say we are not going to lose another young life… “It just goes to show what a community can do when we all pull together and push hard.”
Member for Hume Angus Taylor said the announcement of the Headspace facility won’t take away from the grassroots initiatives, but complement them.
“I think what’s really important is that we continue that community based work and headspace can fit into it and build upon it,” Mr Taylor said.
“Things like Heath Black coming here, the R U Ok Day, the Mates Rate Day at the rugby… these are unbelievably important and impactful community events and we’ve got to keep them going. Headspace should complement and support those activities instead of replacing them.”