Geelong will soon be home to a new youth mental health facility.
The State Government will build a new Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (YPARC) centre on Little Fyans Street, South Geelong.
Others will be built in Heidelberg, Traralgon, Shepparton and Ballarat, to add to those in Bendigo, Dandenong and Frankston.
A recommendation from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, the new YPARC centres will provide flexible, around-the-clock clinical care for young people aged 16 to 25 years experiencing mental ill health.
Building more facilities that provide early intervention care and recovery-focused treatment will reduce pressure on Victoria’s hospitals.
The new centres will each have 10 private bedrooms complete with ensuite bathrooms, communal kitchens, dining and living areas, breakout spaces and outdoor gardens for rest and recovery, as well as family visits.
Designs for the new facilities will draw on the insights and experiences of clinicians, carers and young people with lived experience of mental ill-health by inviting them to actively participate in workshops.
