Page 4146 - Week 12 - Thursday, 1 December 2022
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(iii) the impending inauguration of the adolescent mental health ward at Canberra Hospital;
(iv) grants for initiatives to support vulnerable or disadvantaged children to participate in sport and recreational activities that improve their physical wellbeing, health, and social skills;
(v) ongoing redevelopment of the Watson Health Precinct that will deliver a new purpose built facility for Catholic Care’s STEPS voluntary mental health residential program for 13-18 years old; and
(vi) establishing new eating disorder programs and services, including STRIDE, a parent support program, and clinical hub for eating disorder services, as well as progressing work towards establishing an early intervention service for eating disorders and construction of the ACT’s first eating disorder residential centre; and
(d) the ACT Government’s investment in Orygen’s digital mental health care platform MOST, which provides young people aged 12-25 with access to online therapy, tools, and programs; and
(4) calls on the ACT Government to:
(a) provide an update on the timeline for implementation of Orygen’s MOST platform in the ACT;
(b) advocate for the Federal Government to fund a headspace located in Gungahlin;
(c) provide an analysis of how the ACT Mental Health Workforce Strategy aligns with the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy and compares to other jurisdictions, including intended outcomes for peer support workers;
(d) provide an update to the Assembly on the implementation of the Position Statement on Youth Mental Health Recovery from COVID-19 and advise how youth mental health in this post-lockdown period is responding;
(e) provide suitable social and recreational spaces for young people in Gungahlin where they can develop their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities;
(f) provide an update on mental health supports being considered for young Canberrans that could contribute to reduced wait lists and duration of treatment for mild to moderate mental health conditions and the Missing Middle; and
(g) report back to the Assembly no later than the first sitting week of May 2023.
I rise today to speak about youth mental health, an issue of vital importance to my many young constituents. Being young can be tough. As kids transition from childhood to teenagerhood and later to adulthood they begin to experience life’s most challenging circumstances more consciously; death, making friends, relationship breakdowns, education, financial stresses, the list goes on. The fact is some young people will cope well with the tumult of growing up but others will not. Some young people will have access to support from their family, friends, or school but others will not. Some young people will find this support sufficient but others will not.
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