<p><strong>A huge painted mural and a sea of young people in green t-shirts brought a splash of colour and plenty of energy to the official launch party for headspace Strathpine on 19 February 2021.</strong></p>
<p>During a week marked by storms and torrential rain, the sun broke through just long enough for the socially distanced, outdoors event to proceed – and it did not disappoint. </p>
<p>Around 200 guests showed up to the Open Minds-run youth mental health centre, many of them school children, who were treated to a breakfast burger, cool drink and some hip-hop beats on arrival.</p>
<p>Addressing the crowd, Open Minds CEO Paula Mayson said it was imperative that mental health support was available from a young age.</p>
<p>“Our purpose is enabling an independent and positive future for people living with mental illness and disabilities,” Ms Mayson said.</p>
<p>“What better way is there to stay true to our purpose, than to partner with headspace to help young people, the people who are, after all, our future,” she said.</p>
<p>The new headspace Strathpine centre is the third opened under the auspices of Open Minds, following headspace Taringa, which opened in 2014 and another in Redcliffe in 2015. </p>
<p>“Last year alone we supported 2307 young people at our Redcliffe and Taringa centres, and completed over 11,000 occasions of service,” Ms Mayson said.</p>
<p>“These numbers sit well above the national averages, in comparison to other headspaces around Australia,” she added.</p>
<p>Ms Mason said she was encouraged by the community’s reception of the new centre, with 120 young people already receiving support since it opened in November 2020.</p>
<p>She thanked a number of people and organisations, including Brisbane North PHN “for supporting Open Minds to lead this centre and assisting us along the establishment journey.”</p>
<p>Federal Member for Dickson Peter Dutton also spoke at the launch, reflecting on the increased demand for youth mental health services during the pandemic.</p>
<p>“I really don’t think we can overstate the success of headspace and that’s been underscored through COVID as well, where people have been isolated, they’ve been dislocated, they’ve been separated from their friends and their support structures,” Mr Dutton said.</p>
<p>“And it’s why we have seen a spike, particularly through telehealth, but also now in a return to people coming into consult rooms and seeking the assistance that they need,” he said.</p>
<p>Mr Dutton cited the university development on the Old Petrie Paper Mill site and the new AEIOU centre in nearby Bald Hills as examples of other Australian Government-funded projects recently delivered in his electorate.</p>
<p>“I think we’re incredibly lucky to have the expertise through headspace that we do have,” Mr Dutton said, and he thanked the health professionals and green-shirted volunteers at the event, “for making a big difference in the lives of young people in our local community.”</p>
<p><em>Pictured above: Paul Martin, Executive Manager, Commissioned Services and Libby Dunstan, <em>CEO</em> from Brisbane North PHN, Peter Dutton, Federal Member for Dickson, Jamie Thompson, Regional Manager, headspace Taringa.</em></p>