Mental health and wellbeing hub to support Benalla community

By Simon Ruppert

Nov 27, 2023

Here to help: Rob McAdam (Building Community Capacity coordinator) and Julia Henning (operations manager) from the Benalla, Wangaratta and Mansfield Mental Health and Wellbeing Local site on Nunn St. Photo by Simon Ruppert

With the fallout of COVID isolation still affecting many people and ever-increasing cost-of-living pressures, mental health and wellbeing support in the Benalla community has never been so important.

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While times are tough, there is support available in the Rose City, which is free, accessible and effective.

A Mental Health and Wellbeing Local site, operated by Wellways, opened at 90-94 Nunn St, Benalla, on November 21.

It officially covers Benalla, Wangaratta and Mansfield and is available to assist those needing help without a referral.

Building Community Capacity coordinator Rob McAdam said if someone wanted help, they simply needed to pop in.

“We offer a comprehensive service in peer support for mental health, alcohol and other drugs services,” Mr McAdam said.

He said the services the site offered were based on the findings of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.

“So we were one of the first three sites to kick off, and there will eventually be 60 across the state,” he said.

“And that’s because it was deemed that there was a great need for mental health services in the Benalla, Mansfield and Wangaratta areas.”

Mr McAdam said the site offered three services.

“We have what is called the Support Connect team, which is a peer support service,” he said.

“It is provided by people with a lived experience of mental health and alcohol and other drug issues.

“Anybody from the community aged 26 and up is able to come in. There’s no referral process other than just walking in.

“Then we have the Towards Change team, which works in conjunction with our peer support team, which includes more of our clinical lead services.

“It’s headed by Dr Harry Hill, who is an addiction psychiatrist from Wangaratta.”

Dr Hill works in conjunction with a team of eight, which includes mental health generalist clinicians and alcohol and other drugs family counsellors.

The final service offered is the department Mr McAdam heads up, the Building Community Capacity team.

“It is made up of myself, a community engagement worker, and two ‘LINC’ workers.

“LINC, in this instance, stands for Living in Community.

“Their role is to assist those that might be suffering from social exclusion or have issues with social inclusion to be able to get them involved in their community.”

Find out more via www.wellways.org/our-services/mental-health-and-wellbeing-local-victoria/