Tyler Dunt has turned his life around – and 15 years after Headspace opened, he’s not alone

Stories create community – that’s why this recent story is now free to read. You can help Murray Bridge News tell our community’s stories by subscribing today.

Headspace has made a life-changing difference to hundreds of young people in the Murraylands over the past 15 years.

Just ask Tyler Dunt.

Not that long ago, the 18-year-old said, he had been “a dumb high school kid with no confidence and no self-control”.

The only clues about the pain and guilt raging in his heart were the scars he hid away.

Finally he ran, to a friend’s house – then he sought help.

He found it at Headspace Murray Bridge, where workers helped him rebuild his confidence, get his first job, start studying, move back in with his family and get his life back on track.

“I … went into the bear’s cave without a flashlight and came out the other end,” he said.

“I’m still that anxious, scared person, but now I have the ability to deal with it.

“It was hard to ask for help, but it was worth it.”

Tyler was one of several young people to share their stories on Friday, as Headspace Murray Bridge celebrated its 15th birthday.

OG manager Pat Pollard was there, too, to reminisce about the wild journey that had brought the centre into existence.

The Murray Bridge council had wanted to open a youth mental health centre, and to do it in what was then an abandoned railway station infested with pigeons.

“It was a great place … but by golly, it drained us,” inaugural manager Pat Pollard recalled.

“We weren’t just trying to set up a program to deal with young people and their issues, but we were trying to make this building look like it should be inhabited.”

At that time there were only two Headspace centres in South Australia; most were being run by health authorities in suburban settings.

But the Murray Bridge model – where mental health support was made available at the same site as a youth drop-in centre, the Station – proved so successful that elements of it were picked up by centres around the country.

Headspace moved up the street to a bigger building in 2021, thanks to a federal grant worth almost $700,000.

These days it is operated by iReach Rural Health, the former Murray Mallee GP Network.

Young people aged 12-25 can typically walk in there and see a counsellor or therapist that day – another area of focus for the Murray Bridge centre which has since been replicated elsewhere.

Stories create community. You can help Murray Bridge News tell our community’s stories.

The community had every right to be proud that it had such a service, national Headspace CEO Jason Trethowan said.

“You’ve proven why Headspace works in rural and regional communities,” he said.

“More than half the Headspace centres now are in rural and regional Australia … because of the success you’ve had locally.

“You’ve inspired not only your community, but inspired young people across Australia, and made changes to people’s lives who you’ll never meet – you’ve changed lives and saved lives.”

Investing in young people’s wellbeing helped them go on to work, study, achieve more than they might ever have hoped, and become major players in their communities, he said.

Now what the community needed was a Head 2 Health mental health drop-in centre for adults, federal MP Tony Pasin suggested.

• Get help: Young people aged 12-25 can visit Headspace Murray Bridge at 10 Second Street between 9am and 5pm on most weekdays, or 7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays; call 8531 2122; or visit headspace.org.au. In an emergency, call 000, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
• More information: Visit headspace.org.au or follow Headspace Murray Bridge on Facebook or Instagram.