Two new Open Arms offices open in Brisbane
Open Arms recently expanded its mental health support offering for the 60,000 veterans who call Greater Brisbane home.
In April, the then Assistant Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite opened two new Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling offices in Stafford and Mount Gravatt. The offices are providing local defence personnel, veterans and families with improved access to free counselling, group programs, and peer support.
‘Brisbane is home to one of Australia’s largest veteran communities and Open Arms is Australia’s leading specialist mental health service for veterans and their families,’ Minister Thistlethwaite said.
‘Our veterans sacrifice much in the service of this country, they put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us. This is an unpayable debt, but veterans can rest assured that Open Arms is there for them when they need support.
‘I would like to thank Open Arms staff for their unwavering support of veterans and their families.’
Specialist staff trained to provide military-aware and trauma- informed care are employed at the new offices. Many Open Arms staff are veterans themselves or from veteran families.
Open Arms was established by Vietnam veterans as the Vietnam Veterans’ Counselling Service. Since 1982, Open Arms has provided more than 2 million free mental health sessions to more than 300,000 veterans and their family members.
To see the locations of the new South Queensland Open Arms offices, visit www.openarms.gov.au.
Image: Former Assistant Minister Matt Thistlethwaite, Regional Community Engagement Coordinator Emma Griffith and Leonie Nowland