State Member for Northern Victoria Tania Maxwell and Mitchell Shire Council are leading a push for the Victorian Government to help fund the Seymour Community Wellbeing Hub.
Ms Maxwell has advocated for the hub, saying that Seymour is a town of resilient, resourceful and innovative people with the desire for a project but without the funding.
After writing a letter advocating for the hub, Ms Maxwell met with Family Violence Prevention and Youth Minister Ros Spence in parliament on August 2 to discuss the project.
The Seymour Community Wellbeing Hub is a top priority for the Seymour revitalisation project. It is estimated to cost $23 million and will require a state government investment of $9 million.
The hub is intended to address the effects of the high rates of social and economic disadvantage in Seymour.
Seymour was identified in the Dropping off the Edge 2021 report as being one of Victoria’s most disadvantaged communities.
In an adjournment speech in Parliament on Thursday, August 18, Ms Maxwell said that the hub’s integrated physical and mental health support could help address the community challenges of youth disengagement, family violence and economic disadvantage with specialised support.
According to Ms Maxwell’s address, almost eight per cent of homes in Seymour are social housing with seven per cent of people in Seymour requiring assistance with core life activities. The hub would be a centralised place for people to access assistance for multiple issues without seeking out multiple services or attending multiple clinics, thereby addressing barriers to care like time, means, transport and cost.
The hub is also intended to offer family violence support, including a centre against sexual assault.
Seymour’s family violence rate is three times the state average, with an incident rate of 4018 per 100,000 people. This impacts all family members and brings significant intergenerational trauma.
The benefits of addressing family violence is multiplied through the generations, breaking a cycle.
Ms Maxell said that currently, 18 per cent of Seymour children were developmentally vulnerable in two or more areas. Seymour has low participation rates in education and youth employment, compared to the state average, with one in six young people not participating in work or study.
Hub plans include a “youth assist clinic’ to increase youth engagement in society and unlock education and employment opportunities.
There is also a considerable community of war veterans in Seymour. Veteran healthcare needs can be hard to access in a rural setting. The hub would include specialist support for veterans’ physical and mental health including a wellbeing service.
Other functions of the hub would include general health promotion, dental care, primary health services, flexible consulting rooms and prevention, early intervention and crisis response for mental health.
The location is planned to be centrally accessible and promote community by connecting to the library, a council customer service centre and the sports and recreation precinct.
The hub will be a partnership between the Mitchell Shire Council, Seymour Health, Goulburn Valley Health and Nexus Primary Health.