Federal Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan has welcomed a grant that will see improved facilities for young people utilising Coffs Harbour headspace services.

The $438,118.42 grant is part of the Federal Government’s $26 million investment to ensure that young people can access mental health services where they need them and when they need them.

He said the grant will ensure better social and health outcomes for young people.

“The Coffs Harbour headspace centre will undergo renovations including sound proofing of rooms to increase availability of spaces and improve privacy, IT upgrades, and the creation of dedicated rooms for brief intervention and for telehealth appointments,” Mr Conaghan said.

“headspace has been experiencing high demand for its services and this funding will help them expand their services and improve access to high quality, youth-friendly mental health support.

“One in four young Australians are affected by a mental illness every year.

“Many young people have also been substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, making it more important than ever to ensure access to youth mental health services.”

The funding reinforces the government’s strong commitment to achieving better mental health for all Australians and will complement a record investment of $6.5 billion in mental health and suicide prevention services in 2021-22.

Julie Sturgess, CEO of Healthy North Coast, which supports six headspace sites across Northern NSW and the Mid North Coast, welcomed the announcement.

“Through the North Coast PHN program, we fund health services that are specifically designed to address local gaps identified through our regular needs assessments,” Ms Sturgess said.

“We follow through with a strong commissioning process, where we partner with local organisations to ensure that North Coast communities have quality care when and where they need it. headspace is one of several key programs we have commissioned on the North Coast to improve access to, and quality of, youth mental health services in our region.”

headspace provides free or low-cost, youth-friendly support in four key areas, mental health, related physical health, substance misuse, and social and vocational support.

Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through headspace (https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace/), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), Beyond Blue (1300 224 636), Lifeline (13 11 14), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health (www.headtohealth.gov.au)