Last weeks guest speaker was Helen Jarvis from KYDS, the Youth Development Service started in 2003 that now has centres strategically placed near to schools in Sydney’s North including the northern beaches in order to provide counselling for young people and mental health training programmes for parents and in schools.
Helen, as she confessed, loves data and that’s a good thing in a field which depends on quantitative data to measure the effectiveness of its programmes in improving mental health. We learned that the biggest concern of young people in Australia has changed from alcohol and drugs (now near the bottom of the list) to stress and anxiety, closely followed by body image. Also that KYDS counselling service is very cost effective compared to other organisations working in the same area based on international data. This is because KYDS is able to use volunteers very effectively to reduce their costs.
2020 was, as we know, a devastating year in the area of mental health with local providers unable to meet the demand for help from both adults and young people. In one of the good outcomes of COVID-19, Helen initiated a collaborative process between all other providers of mental health support to young people in Sydney’s North, in order to pick up those sitting on waiting lists or being turned away, to care for them while they waited for a counsellor to become available. This care included triaging, referral for practical needs like accommodation, and interim support for parents so they could give effective care to their child in the interim. COVID-19 also led to KYDS establishing a telehealth service.
Helen's presentation available, click- here.
Bob Howe in thanking Helen emphasised her success in achieving this cooperation between the different mental health services, acknowledging both the wisdom of this and the challenges in bringing it about.
Bob, Janelle, Helen and John
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Announcements for the day included Christine promoting Margaret Cameron’s irresistibly charming beanies for children and adults and a presentation of flowers by Phil Comf
ort to Jo-Ann Moffat for the brilliant effort she and her family firm SOS Removals made in creating the Sisters of Freedom event. Our Club is fortunate in having such a reliable and welcoming Company that plays such a proactive role in supporting our Club projects.
ort to Jo-Ann Moffat for the brilliant effort she and her family firm SOS Removals made in creating the Sisters of Freedom event. Our Club is fortunate in having such a reliable and welcoming Company that plays such a proactive role in supporting our Club projects.