headspace Geraldton started the year settling back into their newly refurbished home at 193 Marine Terrace - the location of Geraldton’s new Youth Mental Health Hub.
This welcoming, purpose-built space has been designed to support young people and families in the region by bringing a range of mental health and wellbeing services and support together under one roof.
The redevelopment of the Geraldton Hub has been proudly supported by a generous Lotterywest grant, and our expanded service offering has been made possible through our committed partnership with The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation and the WA Primary Health Alliance. We are so grateful for their commitment to youth mental health in the region.
The ground floor of the hub will remain the location for headspace Geraldton, while the upper level will house a Youth Focus outreach team, alongside other youth services, including the Youth Focus’ Youth Enhanced Service (YES) team. The Geraldton Hub will provide a base from which Youth Focus can provide outreach counsellors in schools and communities in the surrounding region - greatly increasing the accessibility of our mental health services for young people.
The YES Program, funded through the WA Primary Health Alliance, provides intensive clinical support for young people for up to 12 months, including diagnosis of mental health conditions, medication prescriptions, psychological support and other care as needed.
In its first six months, the YES program has seen significant uptake and is already supporting 50 young people in Geraldton who are experiencing moderate to high levels of mental health challenges. The program offers long term, wrap around support, filling the ‘missing middle’ - designed for young people who need more intensive support than early intervention services, but who don’t qualify for CAMHS or adult mental health services.
The YES team includes staff from Youth Focus and WA Country Health Service (WACHS), working together to provide support.
Working directly with WACHS staff means that if a young person needs to be stepped up to a more acute service, the strong understanding and existing connections help this to happen more efficiently. And headspace and Youth Focus services are available for young people stepping down for ongoing support.
“Working together under the one roof will mean that when a young person is referred to us, or comes through the door, they will be able to receive the right level of support in the one location. Being in close proximity with service providers will improve our ability to collaborate and share service knowledge, ultimately meaning we are able to better support young people.
“It has been amazing to see the response of the community. Everyone I have spoken to about the YES Program has responded positively, relieved that there is a service like this to support young people as they can see there is a strong need for it,” shared Angie Jefferys, Youth Focus YES Program Clinical Lead.
Our services are designed to make it as easy as possible for a young person and their support networks to get the support they need, when they need it.
Young people in Geraldton can now find our team at the Geraldton Youth Mental Health Hub.
