Nowra teenager Georgina Bolam Gannon was last year sitting in a classroom, doing her year 12 studies, with dreams of becoming a youth worker.
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This year, thanks to a chance meeting at school, she is one of 10 young people who are giving their voices to the critical subject of youth health services in her community.
Bolam Gannon came into contact with a representative from headspace Shoalhaven who was at her school to deliver a workshop on Higher School Certificte stress to all students.
"The careers advisor knew I wanted to be a youth worker so she took me to talk to the headspace worker who mentioned the Shoalhaven Youth Reference Group [SYRG]," she says.
Group members give their input on the strategic direction of the youth health service, headspace Shoalhaven, and mental health services nationally.
Bolam Gannon went to one SYRG meeting and was hooked.
She is now putting her energies into the volunteer group while deferring university studies for 12 months.
"I volunteer because I believe it's important for places like headspace to have a youth perspective on the sorts of health services that young people need," she says.
"I'm interested in all health issues for young people but, in the Shoalhaven area, I think youth bullying, support for teenage pregnancy, and more resources for homeless teens are a major concern."
Not only does Bolam Gannon get to have her voice heard, she is involved in activities that contribute to the well-being of young people in her community.
She has also developed her own leadership, advocacy and communication skills in the process.
"I really think we have a made a difference with the youth reference group," she says.
"We've talked about a lot of things that have been going on with headspace and even outside of headspace.
"I love the fact I am in the reference group and I can just say to my friends who might need some help: 'Go to headspace. It's amazing, just try it out'."
Bolam Gannon is one of many who are celebrating the first anniversary of headspace Shoalhaven.
It is a youth health centre where 12- to 25-year-olds can go to speak to someone in a safe and confidential environment.
The service opened its doors in April last year.
It employs several psychologists, a GP and youth workers who help with issues ranging from depression, anxiety, alcoholism and drug addiction to physical health problems.
The service comes at no cost to the young person or their family.
Headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, established by the federal government in 2006.
Headspace Illawarra, on Smith Street, Wollongong, celebrated its fifth birthday earlier this year.
Gabby Newman, 17, who spoke at the official opening of headspace Shoalhaven 12 months ago, volunteers her time once a week at the Nowra-based centre, while also holding down a full-time job.
She is on the reference group and she attends All Sortz Shoalhaven, a youth-led initiative that offers a forum for young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. All Sortz is run through headspace Shoalhaven.
Newman says she feels a sense of achievement in helping others.
"Having the SYRG is probably one of most important things that a service like this could have because it enables the youth perspective on things to be heard," she says.
"I basically want to help because I know people who have gone through some really heavy stuff and it can be hard.
"We are helping other young people and I think that's so important."
Headspace Shoalhaven operations manager Peter Murray says the response to the service in the first year had been very encouraging.
"We are really happy with the response from young people to our service," Murray says.
"It's well known that the teenage years and early 20s can be a tough time for people and it's not always clear how to get help or where to ask questions.
"The sooner young people seek help for things that are going on in their lives the better outcomes they will have, so we're very encouraged by the fact that literally hundreds of young people are coming to us to get the support they need."
Murray says headspace Shoalhaven was engaging well with young people because it offered more informal interaction.
It offers things like group-based activities with an emphasis on fun, as well as structured help with one-on-one sessions with psychologists or GPs.
"Young people get a choice of how they want to come into headspace for the first time," he says.
"They can do it through an appointment with a youth worker first which seems to be with young people the least threatening option; and it's really just a conversation about what's happening with them, what's going well for them, and what things are causing them some trouble in their lives.
"That's a really informal way we are meeting with them.
"Alternatively they consult with the GP here or their own GP."
The group-based activities, which are a stand-out feature of the centre's services, include continuing work on a youth-led community garden, art workshops, filmmaking workshops, support groups and yoga classes.
Headspace conducts its HSC stress groups in local high schools and offers in-school workshops on general mental health and healthy relationships.
Murray says there are many barriers to young people seeking help and treatment for mental health problems.
The biggest barrier in accessing mental health services is that young people are often faced with discrimination because of misconceptions about their illness, he says.
He says the centre's staff work towards creating a space in which young people feel welcome and comfortable, and this in turn helps them to feel less stigmatised.
"Obviously young people are concerned about being labelled and they are concerned that if they speak with someone, their concerns will be discussed with other people, and they're not always completely aware of issues of confidentiality," he says.
"Sometimes we find they are reluctant to get help for a mental health issue because they think their problem is not big enough.
"We are putting out the message that it's always better to seek help and support from headspace, a GP, or another service in town, and that if they do talk to someone, there are people that can help, and they don't have to manage their problem on their own.
"We are keen for young people to realise that it's never too early to get help," he said.
Taking that first step was often the hardest, Murray says, which is why the centre staff try to make that experience as pleasant and non-threatening as possible.
"I think many young people don't know too much about the types of services they can get help from, so they are not really sure what to expect from a psychologist appointment, for example," he says.
"That lack of information sometimes leads them to be reluctant to talk to a psychologist when in actual fact if we bring a psychologist down to a school then young people can see they are just people and have skills that might be able to help them."
Murray says the centre helps young people with a whole range of health-related issues.
"The ones we see most commonly through our headspace centre would be the anxiety-related disorders, followed by depression, and we also see issues such as bullying at school and family relationship problems," he says.
"There are also young people who are quite unwell that need to be managed in a secondary level service or even in a hospital setting."
He says about one quarter of people aged 12 to 25 years will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year.
"We know that only about a quarter of those young people will reach the professional help stage," he says.
"We also know that about 75 per cent of all mental health problems experienced throughout someone's lifetime have had an age of onset before 25 years.
"It's a window of opportunity for help seeking and we know that the sooner young people access professional help then the easier the problem is to treat but also the less likely it will have a lifetime impact."
Headspace Shoalhaven has recently run a series of art workshops in partnership with the Bundanon Trust.
Bundanon Trust artist-in-residence Alex Falkiner has come out to the centre on several occasions to work with young people in the creation of hand-crafted artworks using textile techniques.
"The idea is that they will produce a piece that can be kept at headspace and that other young people can add to that display along the way," Murray says.
Murray says the youth reference group has been one of most successful ventures in the past 12 months.