A new mental health initiative for youth will be launched in Palmerston this afternoon.
headspace Top End has been funded by the National Youth Mental Health Initiative to recognise and respond to young people experiencing mental health, substance use and other health issues.
The launch at Oasis Shopping Centre will include performances by the Pandanus Drummers and Mandy Garling along with displays of artwork created by Top End young people and carers.
Ann Buxton is the Executive Manager Darwin & Remote Services of Anglicare NT - the lead agency for the NT branch of headspace.
She says this will be a 'one-stop shop' of clinical and support services for young people aged between 12 and 25 in the Darwin and Palmerston region.
"The headspace Top End service offers clinical and support services to young people as well as providing training for service providers and community awareness activities across the Top End region. One of the features of the service is that young people, communities and carers will have input into the ongoing development of the service.
"This initiative will make a significant difference to the lives of young people and families in this region. We look forward to working closely with local service providers," says Ms Buxton.
Department of Health and Community Services Director of Mental Health Ms Bronwyn Hendry says the initiative has been delivered through strong partnerships.
"The success of headspace can be attributed to the collaborative efforts of all consortium members, particularly Anglicare as the lead agency but also the Top End Division of General Practise, Danila Dilba and Top End Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Services. There will also be GPs, private practitioners and other related health services working in partnership with us from the headspace offices in Palmerston.
"This presents an exciting opportunity for us to better meet the needs of young people in the Top End. They will be able to self refer or be referred from other agencies and access health and well being services free of charge or bulk billed through Medicare. They will also be given assistance with a range of related issues such as education, employment and housing," says Ms Hendry.
The CEO of headspace National Chris Tanti welcomes the launch of headspace Top End which is one of 30 headspace services around the country.
"A strong focus on young people's mental health has the capacity to generate greater personal, social and economic benefits than intervention at any other time in the lifespan. We argue that it represents the best value for money for future reforms in the youth mental health area.
"Around 75 per cent of mental illness in our adult population starts before the person is 25 years of age. This means that by focusing on early, effective intervention, headspace can make a difference to the community where it's needed most.
Media Contact: Cameron Jackson 0401 116 144
Headspace National: Karalee Evans 0408 174 589
Media are invited to attend the launch.
Where: Shop 15, Oasis Shopping Centre, Palmerston, 0831
When: 2.30pm to 4.30pm, June 26
Headspace Launch (Adobe PDF document - 192KB)
Release date: 26 June 2008
