Youth mental health rates spike: push for new headspace centre in Moonee Valley

A Melbourne council has called for a headspace centre to be built to combat high rates of mental illness in young people in Moonee Valley. And Maribyrnong federal MP Bill Shorten says they have a “strong argument”.

The Moonee Valley Council are pushing for a new headspace centre due to high rates of mental illness among youth.

A push has been made to open a headspace centre in Moonee Valley, as statistics show one in five teens experience high levels of psychological distress in the municipality.

Moonee Valley council have petitioned the Federal Government to build the new centre due to a lack of youth-specific mental health services in the municipality.

The calls come on the back of a council report, from 2015, that found young people aged 12-25 in Moonee Valley experienced poorer levels of mental and emotional wellbeing than the state average.

The report found 19.5 per cent reported high levels of psychological distress, 50 per cent did not have positive psychological development, and 30 per cent were dissatisfied with their quality of life.

This compared to 13 per cent (psychological distress), 21.9 per cent (psychological development) and 17 per cent (quality of life) across the state.

Moonee Valley Mayor Narelle Sharpe said the closest Headspace centres were as far as Glenroy and Sunshine.

“We know that young people face transport and other access challenges to attend these, and that the high service demands across the northwest region lead to long waitlists,” Cr Sharpe said.

“We desperately need more support workers across vulnerable neighbourhoods.”

Rates of youth mental illness in Moonee Valley are far higher than the state average.

Cr Shape said a new headspace centre would help alleviate the gap in available services for youth.

“We know how important early intervention is in reducing the impact of mental health problems on young people, as well as preventing mental health problems from becoming more severe,” she said.

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Headspace chief officer Jason Trethowan welcomed the call.

“With mental health being the number one health issue faced by young people in Australia today, it would be fantastic to have a headspace centre in every community,” he said.

He said the decision for where headspace services were located was made solely by the Federal Government.

Maribyrnong federal Labor MP Bill Shorten said the council had a “strong argument” for a new headspace centre.

“We need to do more to address mental health issues in our community, and the northwest does not have enough resources,” he said.

“Moonee Valley has a large population. It is also a transport hub so a local headspace would also service a broader area.”