Country Counselling | Combatting substance abuse in rural regions through improved youth mental health support

What is the problem you found?

How might we improve mental health services in rural areas?

Customer / Problem

Drug usage and substance abuse amongst use youth in rural areas is a prevalent issue and is currently impacting on our community. Many people know of somebody who has gone through problems that lead to this drug use. As young people, we want to find an early solution to this ongoing problem.

What Is Your Solution?

We aim to set up a counselling service in rural areas across New South Wales (and later Australia) that will provide 20 minute counselling sessions fro $10. Our counselling sessions would be conducted by youth mental health professionals and first aid workers, and would operate after school hours to provide attendants with the privacy they need to feel comfortable seeking help. The service would predominantly target youth either at risk of using drugs (as preventative action) or struggling with an addiction (to promote recovery). Of course, however, all youth mental health is a priority, and any interested parties would be welcome to access our services. Overall, our aim is to strengthen the support systems of adolescents with drug problems, to reduce the occurrence of drug use in youth living in rural communities such as Finley. We believe this action would have a ripple effect on our community, fostering a safer and more welcoming environment for all.