Meet Sarah, a mental health clinician for young people in Roxby Downs, South Australia, near our Olympic Dam operations.

Working for Country and Outback Health, Sarah and the team were always busy supporting the community, but when mental health cases began to rise because of COVID-19, they needed extra support to meet the demand. Through BHP’s Vital Resources Fund (VRF) we have been able to fund an additional clinician, to work with people over the age of 18, and also fund the equipment they need to work and meet with their clients virtually.

‘Having the support of an additional clinician means that more people in our local community will be able to access the services that they need to maintain their mental health and wellbeing. We’re so pleased to offer this extra service with the help of our partner BHP,’ Sarah said.

Separately to VRF, BHP has increased Sarah’s hours to fulltime and extended the age demographic she services from 12-25 to 10-25.

Country and Outback Health is a not-for-profit organisation that provides a range of mental health, general health and NDIS support services to South Australian’s living in rural and regional areas.

This investment is part of BHP’s Vital Resources Fund, established to help support regional Australian communities facing the significant challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.