Standing shoulder to shoulder with the Lithgow community
After a seven-year hiatus, our team returned to Lithgow recently to host our first regional Meet your Neighbour networking event for 2025. The event reunited mental health workers from over 20 organisations to share experiences on men’s mental health and strengthen collaboration in the community to tackle this key issue for the region.
Situated in the Central tablelands of NSW, approximately 140km west of Sydney, Lithgow is a rural and industrial area surrounded by national parks and state forests, with a rich history in coal mining. Access to specialised mental health services in Lithgow is limited, including a shortage of culturally safe mental health services.
Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network’s ‘Needs Assessment’ report estimates that more than 66,000 individuals in the region need mental health services each year. The prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe mental illness has grown, with the Lithgow-Mudgee region reporting the highest rate of psychological distress between 2021-2023.
The Report also shows Lithgow has the highest rates of suicide in the Nepean Blue Mountains region, consistent with findings that people in regional or remote areas face more barriers to accessing health care, making it more difficult to maintain good mental health.
Following a hugely successful Meet your Neighbour event in nearby Blue Mountains in 2024, we returned to the region, partnering with Lithgow City Council, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District and local members Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network, Uniting, Flourish Australia and Relationships Australia, to reconnect with local mental health workers.
Over 20 local community mental health organisations attended the event including mental health workers, psychologists, clinicians, social workers and peer workers. Grahame Richards from Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District set the scene with a fitting phrase that became a strong theme throughout the day – shoulder to shoulder, referring to the approach to men’s mental health that emphasises shared activities and experiences over the direct, face-to face conversations that may be more effective for other demographics.
An engaging panel discussion on men’s mental health highlighted key themes including the impact of the cost of living crisis on access to mental health support, particularly in Lithgow, a rural and industrial area facing higher levels of unemployment. The need for more community mental health supports, particularly lower cost engagement programs was important for the local community. Speakers and participants spoke highly of the value of Men’s Walk and Talks or Men’s Sheds, which are an excellent example of community spaces where men can engage shoulder to shoulder in activities such as woodworking, whilst providing a platform to gain social capital through interaction and connection.
There needs to be more types of programs and supports like these available and accessible in the region. Ogechi Mbaegbu, Manager of Mental Health and Psychosocial Services at Flourish Australia emphasised the disadvantages that often come with living in less affluent areas like Lithgow, which often make it difficult to present a clear case to secure funding.
This also presents a challenge for people who require more intense support. David Cumming, a counsellor from Relationships Australia, observes that some people living with mental health challenges have high needs and require support beyond just the counselling space. He notes a growing need for more community advocacy that can work on multiple fronts to address these needs, and drive down the prevalence of domestic violence rates for the region.
The Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network’s ‘Needs Assessment’ shows that Lithgow has the highest rate of domestic violence-related assault incidents among the LGAs in the region and is significantly higher than the NSW average.
The response to domestic violence from counsellors focuses on clients feeling safe, understanding their personal narratives, and recognising and changing their maladaptive, hurtful coping strategies – these are often rooted in developmental trauma, substance abuse or mental health challenges.
Another perspective on men’s mental health came from Flinn Donovan, Manager of New Programs, Mountains Youth Services Team, who spoke about working in the youth mental health space. Flinn discussed the absence of mental health and suicidality in the school curriculum, and the significance of programs such as RAGE, an early intervention program for young men, that teaches the signs and skills for young people to remain conscious of their emotions to re-navigate anger and guilty emotions.
There was also a valuable discussion on the importance of supporting the mental health of family members and carers, with Andrew Fone, Mental Health Support Worker at Uniting. He pointed out that these individuals often fall through the cracks and emphasised a two-fold solution: raising awareness of available services and advocating for timely access to care, ensuring they get the support they need when it matters most.
A big thank you to all our co-hosts: Wentworth Healthcare/Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District, Lithgow City Council, Uniting, Flourish Australia, Relationships Australia NSW.
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