Counselling, Support Services, Resources & Referral for People in Drought Affected Communities

The Mental Health Support for Drought Affected Communities Initiative funded by the Department of Health and Ageing has committed to building the capacity of rural and remote drought affected communities to respond to the psychological impact of environmental adversity. The majority of the funding has been allocated to rural and remote Divisions of General Practice across Australia including Divisions in your area.

The key objectives of the initiative are to:

• Provide community outreach and crisis counselling for distressed individuals and communities in drought affected rural and remote areas.
• Raise community awareness.
• Provide education and training to enable health workers and community leaders to recognise and respond to the early warnings of emotional stress.

The initiative is led by appropriate and experienced local health workers including social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists, mental health nurses, and Aboriginal health workers, referred to as Community Support Workers. These support workers will help families, health professionals and community leaders across a range of drought affected communities.

For information about local services available to you: 

Mental Health and Allied Health Program Officer

Ph:            07 4921 7712
Fax:           07 4927 2977 
Email:      ajonesfield@capdivgp.com

Mental Health Work Plan for Environmental Adversity

The Mental Health Work Plan for Environmental Adversity document is a local resource to inform community leaders, GPs and service organisations about existing mental health organisations and referral pathways (clinical and non-clinical). This resource has been developed as directed by the Government Department of Health and Ageing for the ‘Mental Health Support for Drought Affected Communities Initiative’ in consultation with regional mental health and allied health representatives.

R.A.D.S Register - Responsible Agency for Drought Support

The R.A.D.S Register is a list of organisations that provide their communities with information kiosks for Beyondblue: The National Depression Initiative, where FREE Mental Health assistance Information and Resources can be located at all times. Click HERE to view or download the Register. (The register is a .pdf document).

For relevant support services in the bush available in an interactive directory format, please visit the beyondblue Australian Rural Information Network (ARIN) Map at: http://info.beyondblue.org.au/arin.html