A new centre in South Hedland will provide a range of youth services including mental health care, physical and sexual health care, work and study support, and alcohol and other drug services.
headspace Hedland has opened its doors to young people, their families and friends.
Anglicare WA, who have run the headspace Pilbara Outreach Program since it began in 2017 and headspace Karratha which opened earlier this year, is the lead agency operating the new centre.
Anglicare said they have used their local partnerships and connection with the region's young people in the development of the new headspace service, which is located at 21/1 Lawson Street, South Hedland, near North Regional TAFE and Hedland Senior High School.
Anglicare WA chief executive Mark Glasson said the opening of headspace Hedland is "an exciting moment" for Anglicare WA, as the first time the agency has had a base from which to deliver services for the local community.
"We're not new to town, we've been here for several years running the headspace Pilbara Outreach Program, Australia's first and only headspace without a bricks and mortar building. Since 2017, we've been working with young people in the places where they gather and feel safe; now, they can also come to us at the headspace Hedland centre," he said.
Mr Glasson said headspace Hedland is "much more than the building".
"The service that will be delivered from the centre is the outcome of months of community consultations and workshops involving young people and their families, other service providers, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, the Town of Port Hedland, WA Primary Health Alliance, and the broader community."
WA Primary Health Alliance's general manager of commissioned services, Mark Cockayne, said Anglicare WA has done "a fantastic job" working with local stakeholders, providers and the community to make headspace Hedland a reality.
"The new centre, along with headspace Karratha and the headspace Pilbara Outreach Program, will mean young people in the region feel safe and welcome when they need support," he said.
Jason Trethowan, headspace chief executive, said it's "wonderful to see" the new headspace Hedland centre up and running.
"The headspace Pilbara Outreach Program has been incredibly successful in taking the principals of headspace out into communities to reach young people where they are and in a way that's most appropriate for them," he said.
"The headspace Hedland site will be an extension of this great work, providing young people and their families with a permanent location they can access for support during tough times.
"Young people and their families have the right to safe and inclusive support available at services like headspace. headspace Hedland will be a welcome addition to the local community, providing young people and their families in the area with a space designed by them and dedicated to them that they can go to for help," he said.
Young people aged 12 to 25, and their families and friends, can contact headspace Hedland directly or be referred by their GP or mental health professional.
The Australian government's Primary Health Networks Program delivered the funding to make the project possible.
