*This article first appeared on the MIND Australia website. Photo credit to Martha Haylett MP
Mind Australia, Ballarat Community Health and Grampians Community Health are delighted to announce the official opening of the Grampians Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect – a centre providing lived experience-led support for family members, carers, kin and other people who support someone experiencing mental health and/or substance use challenges.
Grampians Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect is one of eight new Connect Centres funded by the Victorian Government in response to Recommendation 31 of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.
It is a warm and welcoming space that provides people with the vital networks and support they need to keep caring for their loved one while still looking after their own wellbeing.
People can access individual and group based support, tailored information, advocacy, counselling, and brokerage funds through Tandem’s Carer Support Fund.
Staff at Grampians Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect have their own lived and living experience of supporting someone with mental health and/or substance use challenges, so they have great understanding of the needs and circumstances of people who come for support.
Grampians Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect was officially opened by Victoria’s Minister for Mental Health Ingrid Stitt MP on Wednesday 12 February 2025. It has been operational since September 2023.
“Our network of Connect Centres play an important role in not only promoting a better quality of life for caregivers, but also offering practical services, including advice, connection to support networks and access to hardship funds,” Minister Stitt said.
Mind Australia CEO Gill Callister says the Victorian government should be commended for putting lived experience at the heart of service design and delivery – a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.
“By listening to carers within the community and identifying the issues that affect them, we can create tailored support options so that carers and family members can live their own lives, while continuing to care for their loved ones. Valuing lived experience like this helps us work towards a society that truly understands and embraces mental health as a natural part of life,” Ms Callister said.
“Mind is proud to deliver these much-needed opportunities in partnership with local providers to utilise and harness family and carer lived experience to support and improve outcomes for carers throughout the Ballarat and Wimmera regions, as well as across Greater Bendigo and the Mallee via the Loddon Mallee Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect.”
Grampians Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect is for people of all ages and backgrounds who are living in the Ararat, Ballarat, Golden Plains, Hepburn, Hindmarsh, Horsham, Moorabool, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, West Wimmera, and Yarriambiack regions. Support is free and no referral is needed.
The Grampians Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect centre is located at 15 Dawson Street North, Ballarat Central, with outreach support available across the Wimmera. To find out more about Grampians Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect call 1800 962 008 or email grampiansmhwconnect@mindaustralia.org.au
