Mental Health Support to Neighbour Centres
BY ALEX TIGANI
Peree Watson has announced that a Labor government will deliver $200,000 to help neighbourhood centres in Singleton and Muswellbrook establish programs that support mental health.
Four days on, the Labor candidate admits she gets teary when reflecting on the announcement having spent the past 15 years working in charity, the last two of which she has worked in domestic violence support services.
“We see over and over again the impacts of mental health, based on trauma and the impacts of not being able to access mental health services,” she told The Hunter River Times.
“This is such as vital thing we need in our community,” Peree said.
“When we have been out talking to youth their number one concern is the lack of ability to access mental health support when they need it.”
Singleton Neighbourhood Centre manager Judy Mitchell admits she nearly fell out of her chair when she heard the announcement after yet another exhausting day.
She revealed that her centre’s current psychologist and lifeline councillor can’t keep up the pace.
“I think it is wonderful, we need mental health support so bad in Singleton alone,” she added.