Hunter headspace
headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, an initiative established with funding provided by the Australian Government.The aim of headspace is to reduce mental health disorders in young people aged 12-25 years. This will be manifested through improvements in the mental health, social wellbeing and economic participation of young people.
Follow this link to find out more about headspace, Australia's National Youth Mental Health Foundation.
The Australian Government recently announced that Samaritans was to lead a consortium of local health and community services, receiving $945,000 from the National Youth Mental Health Foundation to establish “Hunter headspace” in the Hunter Region.
The 'youth friendly’ and ‘youth accessible’ community site in Maitland will be focussed on improving access for young people to a broad range of services that promote mental wellness, social inclusion and life skills development.
Dubbed the ‘headspace hub’, a range of health, educational, employment and youth services will be co-located with centralised management and common referral pathways and systems.
The ‘youth friendly’ service will include GPs, alcohol, drug and dual diagnosis workers, psychologists and counsellors as well as services relating to housing, education, employment and vocation.
A range of life skills workshops and programs will be available to enable young people to enhance their self esteem, self identity, resilience and overall life skills.
Hunter headspace will also provide access for young people to simply ‘chill out’ and engage in a range of leisure and social activities. There will be a range of facilities such as washing machines, showers and computers with internet access.
For further details on Samaritans Hunter headspace in Maitland, contact Stephen GroombridgeP 02 4960 7154
E sgroombridge@samaritans.org.au
Out of Home Care
Out of Home Care provides caring support for young people aged between 11 and 17 years. Young people with challenging behaviour or who are from disadvantaged or abusive backgrounds are referred to this service from the Department of Community Services. Carers provide support within their own homes.
There is a strong need for caring, capable people to supply this service. For more information about what is involved in being a carer, please click here to view the Service Information Booklet in PDF format.
For further details on how you can assist, contact Kate Everingham
P 02 4922 1514
E keveringham@samaritans.org.au
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The Community Youth Development Project
This service plays a key role in the development and implementation of youth projects in the Newcastle area promoting the positive contribution that young people can make in the community.
The CYDP provides information, advocacy, training and professional development opportunities to youth services that support young people in the Newcastle local government area. The project seeks to develop and strengthen partnerships with government and non-government agencies in order to improve and maintain effective service delivery models.
Some of the ways the project provides community information or education to raise awareness of issues, services and activities is through the co-ordination assistance of an annual RYDON Youth Workers conference, which is the major youth sector training event in the Hunter. Information is also provided to the community through a range of mediums including media releases, radio/TV, public forums, interagencies and youth week activities.
For further details, contact Julia Woods
P 02 4922 1508
E cydp@samaritans.org.au
Maitland/Dungog Youth Development Project
This service plays a key role in the development and implementation of youth projects in the Maitland and Dungog areas promoting the positive contribution that young people can make in the community.
The YDO provides information, advocacy, training and professional development opportunities to youth services that support young people in the Maitland and Dungog local government areas. The project seeks to develop and strengthen partnerships with government and non-government agencies in order to improve and maintain effective service delivery models.
Some of the ways the project provides community information or education to raise awareness of issues, services and activities is through the co-ordination assistance of an annual RYDON Youth Workers conference, which is the major youth sector training event in the Hunter. Information is also provided to the community through a range of mediums including media releases, radio/TV, public forums, interagencies and youth week activities.
For further details, contact Lisa Ronneberg
P 02 4934 2202
E lronneberg@samaritans.org.au
