Central Coast
This year we helped 3,241 clients throughout the Central Coast as we developed new services and
expanded our existing programs.
A new Family Mental Health Support Service (FMHSS) was federally funded for the Lake Macquarie area and
this resulted in our Wyong-based Connect service now stretching from Wyong to the edges of Newcastle
following a successful tender. The expanded service is now operating out of Swansea High School and Biraban
Public School and other outreach sites across the region.
We developed a new partnership with headspace at Gosford with Interrelate counsellors working from their
premises one day a fortnight. With headspace working exclusively with young people with mental health
concerns, they approached us about offering a service to support the families of their clients. We are providing
family members with one or two sessions at Gosford with a view to assessing presenting issues, decreasing
family anxiety around the young person engaged with headspace and providing an avenue for appropriate
referral to longer term support when required.
We continue to build on our formal agreement with Northern Settlement Services that already sees us
providing counselling from their premises weekly and actively participating in local projects that support
our culturally and linguistically diverse community on the coast. Our Erina office also hosts the monthly
multicultural interagency meeting.
Our Family Relationship Centre continues to maintain its close working relationship with other agencies and
practitioners engaged in mediation and legal services across the Central Coast. Staff attend local courts and
participate in the Domestic Violence Court Assistance Scheme, work closely with local legal services and
actively support the Family Law Pathways Network.
Through our partnership with Mingaletta Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation we have seen the
Didge Group that provides cultural learning and dance and didgeridoo lessons to Aboriginal children double
in size over the last 12 months. The group now regularly performs at major local events such as the Australian
Men’s Health Gathering that was held in Terrigal Between 20 - 23 October.
Interrelate at the Student Mental Health Showcase at Erina Fair
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