EVERY second Wednesday of the month councillors meet to discuss, debate and vote on a range of business items as per our Ordinary Meetings of Council.
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All issues that come before us are important but some items are clearly more significant than straight forward business agendas.
One of these was a Mayoral Minute I was proud to put forward at the last meeting.
The item called on council and local mental health providers to band together to support October's upcoming Mental Health Month awareness campaign.
In particular, I asked that council support this campaign by allocating $4000 towards the shire's upcoming Community Services Forum Expo.
This event will discuss mental health issues affecting all ages and demographics but will shine particular focus on our young people.
With the theme for this year's event entitled 'Learn and Grow', I believe Mental Health Month is the perfect opportunity for all of us to learn more about mental health issues that affect so many in our community.
The theme carries a simple but important message - that each of us learn about mental health and by doing so grow.
By learning we are empowering ourselves and others to take an active approach towards good mental health and wellbeing.
This simple message also aims to remove the stigma around an issue that statistics suggest affects up to 20 per cent of the population at any given time and almost half of us at some point in our lives.
In many ways it acts as a yearly reminder to check up on friends, family, co-workers and even ourselves.
At the same time as supporting the Expo, I also suggested council sponsor an annual youth music event to further draw attention to the mental health and wellbeing of our young.
In my opinion mental health should be seen as an issue of community-wide significance and as such, I'm pleased to report that my item was met with unanimous support by all councillors.
In addition to the Mayoral Minute I've also organised to meet with the Goulburn MP Pru Goward, Minister for Mental Health, to discuss the current state of mental health services here in the Highlands.
Also invited to the meeting will be representatives from the Hume Local Area Command, senior staff from the South Western Sydney Local Health District and regional mental health advocates.
Together I believe we can all learn, grow and increase our shire's mental health awareness and encourage greater positive behaviours.
The Community Services Forum Expo will be held on Thursday, September 29 at Bowral Memorial Hall.
To learn more about October's Mental Health Month visit mentalhealthmonth.wayahead.org.au.