Diversify My Thinking

Uniting has identified two high risk cohorts of young people who have trouble accessing appropriate mental health services, or have significant barriers to access - the LGBTIQA+ community and newly arrived young people. As experts in supporting these cohorts, Uniting believes an internal Mental Health Practitioner will allow earlier interventions to be put into place, reducing wait times for support and providing better support for young people to connect with other services. The role will also be responsible for increasing community awareness and providing education for these cohorts. Our services are available to all young people in these cohorts.

Currently mental health services in the Goulburn Valley area are under resourced and struggle to meet community needs, with limited outreach to smaller centres, and services that specialise in supporting LGBTIQA+ and newly arrived young people have significant wait lists. "Diversify My Thinking" addresses this need, which has been identified at both a service and council level, by placing the Mental Health Practitioner in an organisation with strong connections to both communities, and the internal expertise to support the practitioner. The practitioner will also up skill and partner with local agencies to provide education, training, and community development.