news, local news, carrathool, goolgowi, mental health, support, counseling, suicide, marie clarke
The long-awaited Goolgowi Community Center and Counseling Room has officially opened, thanks to the dedicated work of Marie Clarke. Marie Clarke has been at the forefront of campaigns to improve support for mental health in Griffith, after a series of mental health-related tragedies hit the city in 2020. Her most recent project, a refurbishment of the old chambers of the Council at 5 Stipa Street, has opened its doors to the public today. The building now houses a dedicated counseling room, along with other rooms whose purpose has yet to be decided. Ms. Clarke hopes the space can be put to a variety of community uses, such as hosting community nurses for immunizations, vet visits, or providing a playgroup for Goolgowi’s younger residents and their parents. RELATED For now, though, the counseling room will house a number of options for people who need support. Griffith AMS psychologist Lachlan Foster will be stationed in the room every second Tuesday beginning April 14. Mrs. Clarke said that she was just starting out, but that she was glad to have the room up and running. She hopes that one of the other rooms in the building could be used as a second counseling room, with a main central space for community purposes. “We renovated all of this. It will also be used as a community center,” she said. “Coaching starts next week. There are more rooms I have to finish.” She emphasized that community rooms would be off limits while counseling sessions were taking place, for reasons of privacy and confidentiality. Ms. Clarke also does not handle appointments, to ensure anonymity throughout the process. It’s the same reason the building doesn’t have signs marking it as a counseling service. “We don’t really have anywhere in the city to have meetings unless you use the CWA, so this will be good… If all goes well with counseling and the demand is there, the goal is to build a counseling center here and this will just be a community center.” “Mental health and counseling is the main thing.” She emphasized that the room was there to serve everyone, not just those in the immediate Goolgowi area. READ MORE Carrathool Shire Council representatives Nadia Clark and Judith Collier attended the opening and said they were excited to see what the building would be used for in the future. Carrathool Shire Council is offering the building and land to Ms Clarke, but funds are still tight. The building’s renovation was funded in part by the Community Infrastructure and Local Pathways Program, but for now, Ms. Clarke is short on money to provide additional quality-of-life improvements, such as landscaping. “I’m going to look for more grants and fundraisers,” she said. Ms Clarke thanked some of her friends and supporters who had helped bring the project to life, such as Murray member Helen Dalton, Carrathool Shire council and councilors who had joined. Our journalists work hard to bring up-to-date local news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
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The long-awaited Goolgowi Community Center and Counseling Room has officially opened, thanks to the dedicated work of Marie Clarke.
Marie Clarke has been at the forefront of campaigns for better mental health support in Griffith, after a series of mental health-related tragedies hit the city in 2020.
His most recent project, a refurbishment of the old council chambers at 5 Stipa Street, opened its doors to the public today. The building now houses a dedicated counseling room, along with other rooms whose purpose has yet to be decided.
Ms. Clarke hopes the space can be put to a variety of community uses, such as hosting community nurses for immunizations, vet visits, or providing a playgroup for Goolgowi’s younger residents and their parents.
For now, however, the counseling room will house a number of options for people who need support. Griffith AMS psychologist Lachlan Foster will be settling in the room every second Tuesday beginning April 14.
Ms. Clarke said that she was just starting out, but was glad to have the room up and running. She hopes that one of the other rooms in the building could be used as a second counseling room, with a main central space for community purposes.
“We renovated all of this. It will also be used as a community center,” he said.
“Coaching starts next week. There are more rooms I have to finish.”
She emphasized that community rooms would be off limits while counseling sessions were taking place, for reasons of privacy and confidentiality. Ms. Clarke also does not handle appointments, to ensure anonymity throughout the process.
It’s the same reason the building doesn’t have signs marking it as a counseling service.
“We don’t really have anywhere in the city to have meetings unless you use the CWA, so this will be good… If all goes well with counseling and the demand is there, the goal is to build a counseling center here and this will just be a community center.”
“Mental health and counseling is the main thing.”
She emphasized that the room was there to serve everyone, not just those in the immediate Goolgowi area.
Carrathool Shire council representatives Nadia Clark and Judith Collier attended the opening and said they were excited to see what the building would be used for in the future.
Carrathool Shire Council is offering the building and land to Ms Clarke, but funds are still tight. The building’s renovation was funded in part by the Community Infrastructure and Local Pathways Program, but for now, Ms. Clarke is short on money to provide additional quality-of-life improvements, such as landscaping.
“I’m going to look for more grants and fundraisers,” he said.
Ms Clarke thanked some of her friends and supporters who had helped bring the project to life, such as Murray member Helen Dalton, Carrathool Shire council and councilors who had joined.
- Life line: 13 11 14
- Beyond the blue: 1300 224 636
- Griffith Suicide Prevention and Support Group: 1300 133 911
Our journalists work hard to bring up-to-date local news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
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