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ABC News
2 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Mental health support's surging demand puts pressure on Esperance community services
A community service group in regional Western Australia says it and others are buckling under the weight of the town's mental health needs as government service shortages drive severely unwell residents to its doors. For more than 20 years, Chris Meyer has led Esperance Care Services (ECS), which provides food relief, help and a safe space for those doing it tough in the region, 700 kilometres south-east of Perth. But he has never been so worried. "We're under significant pressure at the moment," he said. Mental health support services are in short supply throughout Australia. And in country areas Mr Meyer said people often had nowhere to turn but community service groups who were not equipped to cope. He said ECS was getting three times more requests for assistance than a decade ago, many staff were taking stress leave, and he even had to take out a restraining order against a troubled client. Lynne McCosh, an advocate with ECS, said they had almost nowhere to refer people who needed urgent, immediate help. "When we have people presenting that are in an extremely heightened state, what [do] we do with them right in that instant, in that moment?" she said. Veronica Lavars, better known as "Click", has long sought regular mental health support for her daughter. "Our daughter had her very first psychotic episode when she was 17," she said. "She's now nearly 56 and she lives with us." She said her daughter often saw a GP and was legally required to see a psychiatrist twice a year, due to her medication. Ms Lavars also wanted her to have more regular appointments with a psychologist or psychiatrist, to form a trusted connection. But she said her daughter was recently taken off the waitlist at the state government-run Esperance Community Mental Health facility. "They say that they have a lot of people on their books," Ms Lavars said. "Because our daughter has me as her support person [who is a strong advocate] she no longer needed to be on their books." Mr Meyer said he often tried to put people in contact with Community Mental Health. "But we get zero support." WA Country Health Service's (WACHS) Esperance Community Mental Health facility has two psychiatrists, who visit Esperance up to six days a month from Perth. Two full time equivalent WACHS psychologists service the entire Goldfields region, which has almost 60,000 residents. A small number of psychologists also operate privately in Esperance. The town has a range of counselling services, including CentreCare, Hope Community Services, ESCARE and Headspace. Mr Meyer said the only real option in an emergency was to call the police or take the person to hospital. But he said the Esperance Hospital was often not equipped to help. WACHS said it had around-the-clock access to mental health professionals, via telehealth, who supported emergency department clinicians on treatment and referral options. In a statement, WA Health Minister Meredith Hammat said she heard the community's concerns. She said the Mental Health Commission funded more than $1.4 billion worth of mental health, alcohol and other drug services across the state. Ms Hammat said further funding announcements on mental health for regional West Australians would be made in the state budget, on June 19. "We obviously need to continue to make sure that we grow our mental health services right throughout regional Western Australia," Premier Roger Cook said. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler's spokesperson said it was committed to delivering more than $1 billion for public mental health care and expanding the sector's workforce. Anna Bonney, who works at Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation and is a former youth worker, was also worried about First Nations residents, who make up about 4 per cent of the community. She said racism remained an issue, which could prompt young Aboriginal people to leave school early and make it difficult for them to secure a job, putting pressure on families and the broader community. "The impact and ripple effect from these things is entrenched disengagement." Ms Bonney said many people who decided to seek mental health help soon lost faith, because of long wait times, being "tossed between" different services, or feeling unwelcome. She believed health system decision makers, usually based in capital cities, needed to work harder to meet the needs of individual communities. Mathew Coleman, chair of rural and remote mental health practice at the University of Western Australia, agreed communities should have more control over their mental health systems. "Health organisers and people who resource health systems need to be listening to those local people," Dr Coleman said. Dr Coleman said while some mental health issues had a genetic cause, others were due to social factors, stemming from things like access to education and employment, discrimination and distribution of wealth. "Often in many places, because of the way that industries set up, there are the 'haves' in town and the 'have nots'," he said. But he said small communities were well placed to address those factors. For example, when a person came out of prison, he said, programs could be set up to prevent them relapsing. Other programs could be geared at addressing social exclusion. Esperance Care Services has long been working hard in that area. On a mild Friday night, the smell of fried sausages and onions wafts down the main street, as volunteers cook a meal for anyone who needs it. A small crowd gathers, pulling up chairs with their pets and children to enjoy the food. Mr Meyer just wishes others could see how critical the need for more support has become. "It's probably as hard a time as I've had it in 20 years," he said.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Southwest Trail construction site vandalized in Saline County, reward for information climbs to $62,160
SALINE COUNTY, Ark. —Vandalism at a construction site on the Southwest Trail in Saline County left a mess of broken equipment and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Chris Meyer, the president of James A. Rogers Excavating, said the company is doing the construction of this section of the trail. Company offering $12,500 reward for info on Southwest Trail construction site vandalism in Saline County 'This is how we provide and put food on our tables,' Meyer said. 'Take me out of the equation, you hurt the employees, you hurt the family that runs this thing, the men and women who work every single day.' Equipment, such as a bulldozer and trackhoe, was vandalized over the weekend, leaving it broken and mangled. 'There was so much malicious and vicious intent to not only hurt our equipment, but there was people's homes that could've been flooded because of this,' Meyer said. Meyer said that when he first saw the damage, he was speechless. His company started pulling equipment out in time. Otherwise, a nearby creek could have flooded because the damage caused a dam in the creek. 'There was a John Deere 210 trackhoe that was pretty much buried and almost unrecognizable,' Meyer said. Recent rainfall has made the situation worse, forcing the company to wait for the creek to recede before they could retrieve the rest of the equipment. The damage comes with a hefty price tag. 'There's probably about $500,000 to equipment, $50,000 to $100,000 in environmental cost, and about three weeks of work that we're all going to have to redo,' Meyer said. Saline County breaks ground on its portion of 65-mile-long Southwest Trail He believes whoever did this probably had a key and a code to access the equipment. Community support is coming in strong, with local businesses and construction companies from neighboring states donating money to raise a reward. 'It's truly a testament to the industry in general, for everybody to have each other's back,' Meyer said. 'This was completely uncalled for, and this was taken way too far.' The reward for information that leads to a conviction currently sits at $61,660. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Saline County Sheriff's Office at 501-303-5609. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Waco honors EMS personnel who died in the line of duty
WACO, Texas (FOX 44) — EMS personnel are often the first to respond in times of crisis, arriving when every second counts — a high-stress job that sometimes comes with the ultimate sacrifice. Local emergency responders and community members gathered at the Waco Suspension Bridge on Wednesday to honor those who lost their lives in the line of duty. Now in its 17th year, the memorial service paid tribute to EMS professionals from across the Heart of Texas region. Chris Meyer is the executive director of the Heart of Texas Regional Advisory Council, and says the annual event is meant to keep the memory of these individuals alive and to recognize the families they leave behind. 'It's important to remember those sacrifices made by the different people in the EMS profession here in the Heart of Texas region,' Meyer said. During the service, the names of the fallen were read aloud as their colleagues stood in solemn remembrance. 'We want to help people remember the importance of the sacrifice that their loved ones made,' Meyer said, 'but also the sacrifice that the families make, having loved ones who served in EMS.' Representatives from cities and counties throughout Central Texas stood side by side, showing solidarity with the fallen and their families. Among them was Ryan Dirker with the Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management Office. 'Anybody in public safety sees this as a calling,' Dirker said. 'We're out here to help people, and unfortunately, sometimes that does involve giving the ultimate sacrifice. For those who have the courage to do that — to give themselves in service of others — there can be no higher calling.' As National EMS Week continues, first responders say events like these are a reminder of the bonds they share, the risks they face, and the enduring importance of their mission to serve and protect their communities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Baton Rouge mayor to give updates on master plan for downtown
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Baton Rouge leaders will be announcing the planning firm chosen to lead Plan Baton Rouge III, a master plan for the downtown area. Baton Rouge Area Foundation President and CEO Chris Meyer is expected to attend along with Mayor-President Sid Edwards, District 10 Councilmember Carolyn Coleman and Co-Chair of the Plan BR III Steering Committee Marty Engquist. Organizers said they are expected to share details about the next steps in the master plan project. A news conference is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18 at the LSU Museum of Art at the Shaw Center for the Arts. Watch a livestream of the news conference in the video player above. Baton Rouge leaders asking for ideas as next step to improving downtown Baton Rouge Shaq pays surprise visit to varsity baseball teams at Dutchtown High School game Baton Rouge mayor to give updates on master plan for downtown White House says Elon Musk is not part of DOGE Columbine survivor Anne Marie Hochhalter dies decades after shooting Time running out to save a slice of civil rights history in the Texas Panhandle Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
