Funding sought for headspace service

Deniliquin Mental Health Awareness Group prepared the submission on the advice of headspace, as discussions which started in 2021 continue.

Deni MHAG member Lourene Liebenberg said complementing the submission were letters of support from Edward River Council, Intereach and Vinnies Services.

“This is only the beginning of a process, and the submission was basically to provide information about our community, services available, distances to youth services and needs identified,” Mrs Liebenberg said.

Discussions in relation to a local headspace service were started on the back of a community consultation report prepared for Edward River Council by consultancy firm Seftons.

At the head of the firm is former local Robbie Sefton, who is also a director of headspace.

When bringing key headspace staff to Deniliquin for those initial discussions, Ms Sefton stressed that while there was no ‘‘alarm’’ in relation to youth mental health, her report for council highlighted that mental health issues were ‘‘increasingly of concern’’ to locals she spoke with.

“Following this meeting, Deni MHAG formed a small working party to scope services related to youth mental health and wellbeing services in Deniliquin and surrounds,” Mrs Liebenberg said.

“This small working party included representation from Vinnies Services, Intereach, Wellways and MLHD.

“Part of the work done has been to scope services and to look at barriers to access of services; as well as collecting data within the organisations involved in terms of service delivery.

“During 2022, Deni MHAG also approached Federal Member for Farrer Sussan Ley for a meeting to discuss support for youth mental health services and a headspace for Deniliquin.

“This meeting took place mid- January 2023, and the importance of presentation of accurate data to support a viable business case was discussed.

“Also in January 2023, Deni MHAG received correspondence from headspace suggesting an additional step to take could be to lodge a pre-budget submission.”

As the working party resumes its efforts in the new year, it will welcome rep-resentation from the Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network.

Deni MHAG chair Lyn Bond said this is with the specific aim to assist the group to now quantify data appropriately to align with the data that is looked at when funding is released, and decisions made around new locations and services.

“The MPHN plays an important role in the identification of needs around service locations with regards to headspace funding,” Mrs Bond said.

“We are looking forward to continuing to work closely with them at this stage of our advocacy.

“There are various models of service delivery with regards to headspace, and it is important we get it right as to which model will deliver the best results for our community.

“Advocacy takes time and requires patience. A large part of advocacy is relationship building and ensuring that what we are advocating for aligns with the health needs analysis and key priorities identified for our community”.

Other organisations will join the working party as Deni MHAG continues to build a strong case for an appropriate headspace service in Deniliquin.