Manningham is a missing space on the map for headspace services

We need to put a headspace on the map in Manningham.

If young people wish to access headspace at locations outside of Manningham, they face travel times of up to 80 minutes via bus and train.

Young people travelling from the more isolated suburbs of Manningham (Park Orchards, Ringwood North, Warrandyte South and Wonga Park) need to utilise multiple connecting bus routes to access their nearest service (1). All public transport routes involve walking between bus/train stops, interchanges and the services. This is a further barrier to access mental health care for young people with a disability.

Additionally, travel times from the more isolated suburbs mean that they would only be able to access their nearest service within their operating hours on some (not all) days of the week. Young people are further limited in the number of appointments available to be booked, and often there is no way that a young person could reach a headspace service after school.

Many young people prefer to seek mental health support without the knowledge of their parents. Being able to access services through public transport without being driven to the appointments by parents is critical to better health outcomes.

As young people cannot easily access the existing youth mental health services, they face poorer outcomes including failing to complete school, under/unemployment, partaking in self-harm, or suicide (2,3).

References

(1) Transport times to Headspace sites from Manningham by public transport - D21/14439 (internal)

(2) National Youth Mental Health Survey - headspace.org.au/assets/Uploads/Insights-youth-mental-health-and-wellbeing-over-time-headspace-National-Youth-Mental-Health-Survey-2020.pdf

(3) Orygen Suicide Prevention Policy Report - orygen.org.au/Policy/Policy-Reports/Raising-the-bar-for-youth-suicide-prevention/orygen-Suicide-Prevention-Policy-Report?ext=