Victorian Government funding to improve headspace centres

The Victorian State Government will provide $4 million in capital funding to the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, headspace, to upgrade many of its existing Victorian centres.

The funds will go towards new or refurbished headspace centres, allowing for the expansion of and integration with other vital health and wellbeing services to improve the lives of thousands of young people.

headspace is an initiative of the Commonwealth Government, which has invested close to $300 million in establishing headspace centres across the country.

headspace CEO Chris Tanti said the funding will help already-established Victorian centres work in partnership with the state services and to keep pace with the strong demand they're experiencing.

"The most significant benefit of the site upgrades will be their increased capacity, so they can help even more young people deal with personal issues before they become debilitating problems," Mr Tanti said.

The first centre to move into its new home is headspace Southern Melbourne, now located at 319-321 Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick. The site will be officially opened at 10am today by the State Minister for Mental Health, Mary Wooldridge.

Mr Tanti said the centre had become an important resource for young people in the area since opening in 2008.

"headspace Southern Melbourne has already helped more than 2600 young people deal with problems like depression and anxiety. Demand for the service continues to grow, with a 23 per cent increase in new clients this year."

headspace Southern Melbourne centre manager, Kirsten Cleland said the larger site will provide opportunities to run group programs and activities, as well as strengthen partnerships with local services.

"We're going from six to 11 consulting rooms, which will give young people consistency in the room they're seen in and that is important for them to feel comfortable."

"We'd like to look for opportunities to bring in other youth services as well as more allied health and primary care clinicians. Ultimately we'll be able to provide more services to more young people in Southern Melbourne," said Ms Cleland.

For more information about headspace or to access youth mental health support visit headspace.org.au