Shire health medals

By Kath Gannaway
GOLD and silver medals should add some weight to an ongoing battle by the Shire of Yarra Ranges to keep a successful mental health program in the shire.
The PATS (Paying Attention to Self) program, aimed at young people with a parent who has a mental illness, was run by the shire’s Youth Services Team as a pilot for the Department of Human Services.
The program won a Gold Award in the Specialist Service in a Larger Organisation category last week at the Australia and New Zealand Mental Health Service Achievement Awards.
The statewide PATS program was awarded silver for programs aimed at preventing or promoting mental health issues.
Katharina Verscharen, the shire’s Mental Health and Counselling Team coordinator said PATS had improved the long-term mental health of young people involved in the program.
Funding was allocated in May for the new Families Where Parents Have a Mental Illness (FAPMI) program which replaces PATS and will be run by Eastern Health.
The shire is pressuring the State Government to put in $30,500 to keep the program local.
James Martin, Shire of Yarra Ranges manager of community relations, said one of the main elements of PATS’s success has been its youth-friendly environment and its accessibility.
With the program set to run from Maroondah Hospital, he said the program would be compromised.
“So much of our research shows young people don’t want to have to go to an institutional setting. They also have to be able to get there,” he said.
“Our youth services team is very well connected with young people and with other agencies and we believe the best place to offer this program is in our shire.”