Collingwood

Outreach support is flexible in lots of different ways.

Outreach means YSAS drug and alcohol workers can come to you. They will meet you in your own space or in your own community; wherever you feel safe.

Outreach workers support you how you want to be supported and make sure that the help you get is matched to your needs.

If you’re between 12 – 25 years and have problems with your drug and/or alcohol use an outreach worker can help by:

• Assessing your needs and making a support plan with you
• Alcohol and other drugs support and education
• Referrals and linkages
• Practical support (getting Centrelink sorted, organising a doctor’s appointment)
• Family support
• General counselling
• Justice support
• Harm minimisation

Outreach is a good option if you:

• Have a lot of other things going on in your life as well as use of drugs and alcohol
• Need practical support to get stuff sorted while working on your drug and alcohol use
• Find it hard to make it to an office to catch up with a worker

Things to think about

Sometimes you will still need to organise an appointment to meet up with your outreach worker. The appointment may be in the office or somewhere in the community that you feel comfortable.

We are co-located (meaning in the same building) as headspace Collingwood.

If you’re between 12 – 25 years and need support with your mental health, physical health (including sexual health), or work and study headspace Frankston can help.

headspace offers tailored and holistic mental health care. The focus is on early intervention, and helping you to improve your health and wellbeing Headspace has a great website that offers information about different issues that can affect young people, as well as being a place to access online, telehealth and phone support.

The type of support you can get from headspace includes:

• Strengthening your ability to manage your mental health.
• Access to counsellors and other mental health clinicians.
• Treatment and management plans for mental health concerns.
• Access to onsite, youth-friendly G.P services.
• Early psychosis intervention support.
• Developing life skills including, managing workloads, dealing with stress, preparing job applications and career planning.
• Online support via eheadspace.

Things to think about

Usually you will need to organise an appointment to meet with your counsellor, worker, or G.P. The appointment will be in the office.

Youth Support Services connect you with a youth worker who can help you make changes so that you don’t keep getting in trouble with the police.

If you are between 10 – 17 years, have recently been in contact with police and could be at risk of entering the youth justice system this program can help.

Youth Support Service can help you if you have/are:

• Recently been in contact with police
• Been doing risky things lately (running away from home, getting into fights)
• Finding it hard to cope
• Experiencing homelessness
• Experiencing family conflict
• Have Court coming up and need some advice
• Want to make changes
• Need general support

YSS is voluntary, which means that it is up to you whether you are part of the program. It is separate from the legal process and is here to support you and your family to reach your goals.

YSS can help you and your family to deal with problems before they get too serious.

Referrals are made by Victoria Police, schools or other youth organisations/agencies who have gotten consent from you and/or your parent/s to reach out to you.

Things to think about If you have been referred to YSS by police you will get a phone call from a worker to make sure that you want our help and to find out what has been going on for you. A time to talk on the phone again or an in-person appointment will also be organised.