Walkway to wellness forges a permanent path

The new front door to the mental health care system in Wangaratta has officially opened. Victorian Minister for Mental Health Ingrid Stitt, together with Treasurer and Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes celebrated along with 50 attendees at the long-awaited milestone opening of the new walk-in Mental Health and Wellbeing Wangaratta Local centre in Reid Street and Victory Parade. The Wangaratta Local offers a range of instant clinical and wellbeing mental health supports via in-person walk-ins and appointments, telehealth and outreach services – all free of charge with no Medicare or GP referral required. The site had been two years in the making and was meticulously developed with input from community members and people with lived and living experience of mental health illness. Minister Stitt said about 30 staff would be operating with the Wangaratta Local service, with outreach work stretching across Benalla and Mansfield regions. “It gives the opportunity for people to get expert mental health support here if they are experiencing mental health issues that are a little more complex than a GP can deal with, but not serious enough to go to one of our critical services at a hospital,” she said. “This takes a lot of pressure off our hospital system.” Services are delivered by a multidisciplinary team of experienced mental health professional, wellbeing staff and peer support workers, and is designed to meet the diverse needs of the community. Minister Stitt said the new permanent home of the Wangaratta Local looked magnificent and would be an incredible service across the community. “It’s filling a gap we’ve never had before in our system, and I couldn’t be happier to see Wangaratta now in a permanent location,” she said. “It’s designed in a way that’s very thoughtful, we’ve had a lot of input from not just expert staff here, but also people with lived experience so that we can create an environment where people feel like they can come here free from stigma, in a non-clinical environment. “What this is about is giving people the help they need where they live as early as possible.” Local Bpangerang elder Uncle Darren ‘Dozer’ Atkinson who began opening proceedings with a smoking ceremony, spoke of the importance of local youth and Indigenous people receiving mental health support, particularly in the age of social media. A short tour of the facilities followed the cutting of the ribbon before speeches and morning tea wrapped up the official opening. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Wangaratta is led by Wellways Australia in partnership with Albury Wodonga Health and the Australian Community Support Organisation. The Wangaratta team had been operating out of two temporary sites on Victory Parade and Ovens Street for the past two years anticipating the opening of a permanent home. Mental Health and Wellbeing Wangaratta Local director of service Nikki Wynne said to have an easily accessible place for people to walk in and access mental health care without referrals or a Medicare card was an incredible community asset. “Our work in Wangaratta has been about creating a service by Wangaratta, for Wangaratta,” she said. “I know loneliness and isolation are big contributors to decline in wellbeing in this community, this local provided opportunities for people to connect.” Ms Symes said early intervention access was crucial in mental health care. “As someone who has grew up here and had family members that have had mental health challenges without anywhere to go decades ago, to have the place-based facilities that people can walk in without a Medicare card and without a referral is a game changer,” she said. “There is every opportunity to get the help you need whether it’s on site here or out in the community.” “In country areas I know that it can be challenging to get the help you need, which is why as a government we are priotising mental health.” The Wangaratta Local is one of 15 similar services that have assisted more than 23,000 Victorians with free community-based mental health care. The 2025/26 state budget invested $34.4 million to expand and establish Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals across the state. The centre can be accessed at 76a Reid Street, with entry via Victory Parade, on weekdays from 9am to 6pm and Saturdays by appointment. You can find out more on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Local Wangaratta in Wednesday’s Chronicle.

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