Selectability Health Hub
CityLife FEATURE
Cairns Mental Health Hub Officially Opens
Cairns now has its very own dedicated Mental Health Hub thanks to regional Queensland’s largest mental wellbeing organisation, selectability.
The facility officially opened on World Suicide Prevention Day, with local medical professionals, business leaders, politicians, carers and consumers in attendance to mark the occasion.
Residents across the region can now access a range of vital mental wellbeing services at the selectability Cairns Mental Health Hub which provides a range of NDIS and government funded services to improve the mental wellbeing of individuals and contribute to suicide prevention.
selectability CEO, Debra Burden said they had been operating across the region for over forty years at various locations, but the time had come to create a facility that had room for expansion of services and a more prominent presence.
“It is fitting that we officially open the Cairns Mental Health Hub on World Suicide Prevention Day with the suicide rate continuing to rise across regional Queensland,” said Ms Burden.
“The move is part of selectability’s commitment to improving the mental wellbeing of regional Queenslanders and contributing to suicide prevention.
“Opening a Mental Health Hub in Cairns has been an important step for us. The site being centrally located on a main highway so people can find us easily was also important to us.
“The Cairns community has been telling us for some time that they would like to access more of our services, and we’re responding. We pride ourselves on providing services that are flexible and tailored to the needs of the people and communities we support.”
selectability Cairns General Manager, Ingrid Westthorp said “The programs on offer at the Hub included dedicated counselling services, psychological support for both adults and children, NDIS support coordinators, clinical assessors and they held regular community-based events to encourage connection and social support for all clients.
“Our new facility is a place where no-one feels alone. We want the people of Cairns to know that even if they’ve never used our services before, we encourage them to pop in if they feel like they are struggling in any way as we are here to support them.
“Everyone is welcome and we offer support at every level and we have great referral partners that we work with every day,” said Ms Westthorp.
Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and Member for Mulgrave, Curtis Pitt and Chair, Tom Ryan, a long time selectability Board Member did the honours of unveiling the plaque at the official opening. Curtis Pitt MP welcomed the opening of the Mental Health Hub and commented on selectability’s commitment to improving the mental wellbeing of the Cairns and greater FNQ community.
“Mental health support is something we need to be responding to as suicide rates climb in our community, especially during this global pandemic that we are all in the midst of experiencing. It is essential that we discuss mental health just as we discuss any illness and remove the stigma. If we have a headache, we don’t hesitate to tell someone. We need people to feel willing to pop into their local GP or places like the Cairns Mental Health Hub and explain how they’re feeling so the appropriate care and support can be given to them to get them through to the other side. As Queensland’s first ever stand-alone Minister for Mental Health, I commend the great work that the selectability team continue to deliver across Queensland,” said Mr Pitt.
The Mental Health Hub is located at 606 Bruce Highway, Woree, directly opposite the Cannon Park Racecourse.
