	{"id":103145,"date":"2026-04-11T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/?p=103145"},"modified":"2026-04-08T19:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:28:13","slug":"free-mental-health-and-wellbeing-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/news\/free-mental-health-and-wellbeing-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Free mental health and wellbeing support"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>FREE mental health and wellbeing support is available in Heathcote for adults aged over 26 with no doctor&#8217;s referral or Medicare card required.<\/p>\n<p>The service is part of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals initiative formed after recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria&#8217;s Mental Health System.<\/p>\n<p>The service provides peer led, respectful, responsive, and judgement-free support to meet diverse needs.<\/p>\n<p>All services are completely free.<\/p>\n<p>With sessions designed to be flexible and accessible, anyone can book and appointment or walk-in during available hours.<\/p>\n<p>Tyler Begg, a community mental health practitioner from the Greater Bendigo Loddon Campaspe Adult Mental Health and Wellbeing Local, visits Heathcote Health every Tuesday from 10am to 4pm.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am a mental health practitioner and Master of Social Work student dedicated to practical, community-focused support,&#8221; said Mr Begg.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I work with regional communities on mental health, suicide prevention, and alcohol and substance challenges using compassion, local resources, and evidence-informed approaches.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Together we can build connection, hope, and practical pathways to recovery.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>To book an appointment, call 03 5497 5600. Walk-ins are welcome on Tuesdays between 10am and 4pm at Heathcote Health but availability for walk-ins may be limited. Anyone needing support is encouraged to call ahead where possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FREE mental health and wellbeing support is available in Heathcote for adults aged over 26 with no doctor&#8217;s referral or Medicare card required. The service is part of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals initiative formed after recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria&#8217;s Mental Health System. The service provides peer led, respectful, responsive, and [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/news\/free-mental-health-and-wellbeing-support\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":215,"featured_media":103148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-103145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Free mental health and wellbeing support - McIvor Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Access free Heathcote mental health support. No referral or Medicare needed. 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