headspace Maroochydore, celebrates 10-years!

headspace Maroochydore, a service run under lead agency Youturn, celebrates 10-years of delivering youth mental health services to Sunshine region.

It has been over a decade since headspace Maroochydore first opened its doors to provide mental health support for young people and their families in the Sunshine Coast community. Now one of over 150 centres across Australia, headspace Maroochydore has supported over 12,000 young individuals since its launch and delivered over 60,000 occasions of service. These young people are part of the more than 867,000 who have visited a headspace centre across Australia since its inception 17 years ago.

Providing mental health services to 12-25-year-olds; headspace Maroochydore marked the anniversary with an afternoon of celebrations at the Maroochydore headspace centre at Evans street this week.

An occasion conveying testament to the vital support not only headspace Maroochydore provides, but nationwide delivery to young people, and their family and friends; Youturn recently appointed Chief Executive Officer, James Blevin, spoke about the incredible support and commitment that has been shown towards headspace Maroochydore, over the years.

“The impact of headspace cannot be overstated, and we are incredibly fortunate to have the support of Country to Coast Primary Health Network for Central Queensland, Wide Bay, and Sunshine Coast as funding providers to provide such a vital organisation within the region. We also recognise and acknowledge the dedication of the entire headspace Maroochydore staff. Their tireless efforts, passion, and expertise have been instrumental in reaching this remarkable milestone” he said.

A service funded by the Australian Government, headspace supports young people with mental health, physical health, alcohol, and other drug services, as well as work and study support. With a focus on early intervention, centres work with young people to provide support at a crucial time in their lives – to help get them back on track and strengthen their ability to manage their mental health in the future.

Mr Blevin commented that headspace Maroochydore should be proud of its 10-year anniversary achievement and its contribution to improving mental health outcomes for young people in the region. “With mental health being the single biggest health issue facing young Australians, we are proud to work as the lead provider of headspace Maroochydore to support this crucial service,” Mr Blevin said. “The service has seen significant growth in the last 10 years, with many success stories from the young people who have sought help from the headspace Maroochydore team. “Youturn is strongly committed to supporting our headspace services, and we look forward to the continued partnership with the PHN to help young Queenslanders get the right care, in the right place, at the right time.”

headspace Maroochydore centre manager, Jonathon Pitcher spoke on “the importance of the unique and invaluable input to the service provided by the headspace Youth Engagement Committee (YEC)*. “In everything headspace do, the aim is to meet the evolving and unique needs of young people and those who support them” he said. “That’s why the input of the headspace YEC and their active role in designing, developing, and evaluating headspace programs is invaluable. “As a community we all have a job to ensure that any mental Illness is recognised as a mainstream health issue and is treatable like any other type of illness, disease, or injury that may afflict any person. I think headspace services do that job exceptionally well.”

Sharing three incredible stories of some of the wonderful young people we are privileged to have met and supported throughout these past years…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8EqmbBK4fc

*Headspace Youth Engagement Committee are made up of young advocates for young people, youth mental health, and community leaders and people with lived experience of supporting a young person with mental health challenges.

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ABOUT YOUTURN:

Youturn is a not-for-profit charity started over 30 years ago to help address youth homelessness in the Sunshine Coast region.

Youturn is now a national organisation with a multidisciplinary team of almost 200 staff and last year supported over 16,000 vulnerable people through our range of services including accommodation, homelessness, mental health, and suicide prevention.

In mental health, Youturn has delivered youth support services through the headspace model since 2012, when the first centre in Maroochydore was opened. Youturn now manages five centres across South Queensland including Toowoomba, Bundaberg, Maroochydore, Caboolture, and Gympie.