Campbelltown is home to two warm, community-based mental health services offering meaningful, person-centred models of care. NSW Health’s Safe Haven and Grand Pacific Health’s Campbelltown Medicare Mental Health Centre provide safe, accessible spaces where people can seek help early, connect with peers, or find calm during periods of distress.

Mental Health Coordinating Council’s (MHCC) recent visit to Campbelltown provided valuable insights into these community-based services and how they are strengthening local pathways to care and offering effective alternatives to emergency departments.

Safe Haven Campbelltown

Tucked on a quiet, grassy intersection in Ambarvale, Safe Haven Campbelltown is a calm, welcoming and non-judgmental space that feels like a drop-in communal living room. Free and open to walk-ins, the service offers a supportive alternative to emergency departments for anyone experiencing emotional distress or suicidal thoughts, with Peer Workers who offer support through listening, guidance, safety-planning and connection to longer-term or additional services when needed. Safe Haven Peer Workers have their own lived experience of suicidal distress and bring unique empathy and connection to working with people on a similar journey.

The centre features a variety of refuge areas for people feeling distressed or experiencing a crisis. These include a quiet room with a massage chair to decompress, creative corners to play guitar, journal or draw, outdoor seating to have a yarn, a children’s playground, and an oval to vent and stroll. It’s truly a ‘come as you are’ space.

While the peaceful location is a strength, being tucked away in a quiet part of Campbelltown also means that raising community awareness is important so locals know a non-clinical, walk-in option is available. As such, Safe Haven is actively engaged in community partnerships and networks with multiple other services across South West Sydney. Situated on site is also the Suicide Prevention Outreach Team (SPOT), a mobile service that supports people experiencing a crisis or suicidal distress, in their homes or at a location where people feel comfortable in the community. The team noted that SPOT receives more referrals from males aged 40-60, who are less likely to access the walk-in service.

Mental Health Coordinating Council continues to advocate for expanded access to Safe Havens, including 24/7 availability, in line with Recommendation 27 of the NSW Inquiry into the equity, accessibility and appropriate delivery of outpatient and community mental health care.

Tasked with supporting communities across the broad South West Sydney Local Health District, the small but dedicated team provides free, immediate help to people who might otherwise have to struggle alone or wait in line at a more intimidating emergency department.

Campbelltown Safe Haven currently operates four days a week, from Friday to Monday, 12:00pm-7:30pm.

Left to right: Poppy (Community Engagement Peer Support Worker), Evelyne (MHCC CEO), Naomi (Project Manager), Susie (Senior Peer Support Worker), Nick (Team Leader), Yvie (MHCC Communications & Content Officer), Julia (MHCC Communications & Engagement Manager)

Grand Pacific Health’s Campbelltown Medicare Mental Health Centre

Opened in October 2025, Grand Pacific Health’s Campbelltown Medicare Mental Health Centre provides free mental health and wellbeing support including onsite mental health clinicians, family and couples counsellors (from Relationships Australia NSW), peer workers, alcohol and other drugs workers (from Odyssey House), care navigators including an Aboriginal Care Navigator and other allied health workers, to link people to appropriate services. The centre does not require a Medicare card, ensuring people of all backgrounds can seek help when needed.

Set above street level at 8 Dumaresq Street with lift and ramp access, the interior space offers quiet, warm and welcoming rooms, with private spaces and relaxed corners suited to people who experience sensory overload or prefer low-stimulation environments.

The Medicare Mental Health Centre model is built around accessibility and choice: people can engage as much or as little as they want, with immediate walk-in one-on-one support, peer-led groups, help for specific challenges, or longer-term wellbeing pathways. Parents are welcome to bring children along, making the service easier to access for people balancing caring responsibilities.

Access for culturally and linguistically diverse communities is also a priority. Staff speak a variety of languages including Vietnamese, Hindi, Filipino, Māori, Nepalese, Serbian, Croation, and Arabic, and use translation technology to ensure language is never a barrier to support.

The centre is open seven days a week: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00am-5:00pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00am-7:00pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00am-3:00pm.

South Western Sydney locals and community workers are encouraged to spread the word on these services for the region to ensure more people with mental health challenges, their families and carers, are aware of these vital supports.

MHCC CEO Dr Evelyne Tadros with team members of Campbelltown Medicare Mental Health Centre: Grand Pacific Health, Odyssey House NSW, and Relationships Australia NSW

Mental Health Coordinating Council continues to advocate for the expansion of person-centred, community-based models, which provide accessible supports and ease pressure on acute services.

Thank you to the teams at Safe Haven Campbelltown and Grand Pacific Health’s Campbelltown Medicare Mental Health Centre. Visit their websites to learn more.