The official launch of the Rural Youth Mental Health service in 2018. Photo: Barbara Watt.
Rural Youth are set to receive extra support due to a funding boost from Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN).
A new variation to the WNSW PHN’s Rural Youth Mental Health Service Contract will see services delivered through the Benevolent Society expand in a number of locations.
This funding will enable the enhancement and extension to services already offered by The Benevolent Society through the Rural Youth Mental Health Service (RYMH) across Parkes, Forbes, Condobolin, Cowra, Coonabarabran, Walgett, Gilgandra, Cobar, Nyngan, and Narromine.
This funding boost will allow a new service to Mudgee, which currently and historically has limited mental health service provision for rural youth. The funds will also allow increases in service availability in Parkes, Forbes and Cowra, which are areas where the demand exceeds the capacity of the current service model, as well as enabling the provision of outreach services across the Cobar, Nyngan and Narromine area without impacting negatively on current wait times.
WNSW PHN acting CEO, Robert Strickland, says the extra funds will allow RYMH to deliver its positive outcomes for even more of the region’s youth.
“RYMH has proven to be a service that is providing a high-quality, evidence-based services to young people in rural and remote communities, working well with schools and other service providers in those regions.”
“I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to provide extra support for such a vital service for our region’s youth. The need for services in the small towns has been identified as a key priority and the RYMH service is part of our response to that challenge.” Mr Strickland added.
Details on the Benevolent Society’s RYMH Service can be found at https://www.benevolent.org.au/services-and-programs/list-of-programs/rural-youth-mental-health