A task force including Mayor Stephen Lesslie and Deputy Mayor Wayne McAndrew has been established to begin an organised fight against mental health issues.

The group will particularly aim to raise awareness of mental health issues and where people can get help as well as to lobby higher levels of government to provide appropriate mental health services.

“We’ve effectively, in my very strong view, been left behind in as far as state and federal funding support,” said Councillor McAndrew.

“A lot of the mental health type stuff is driven from Penrith and Bathurst, that’s no good to us.

“We need our own support based here, we need funding for here.”

The task force also includes Dr John Dearin, Katrina Prescott and representatives from the Nepean/Blue Mountains/Lithgow Primary Health Network.

Community members will also be invited to share their views as the group moves forward.

The task force met for the first time on Wednesday and resolved to seek government grants as well as support to introduce a Headspace facility in Lithgow.

The nearest Headspace services are in Penrith and Bathurst.

For those affected by mental health issues it is critical to be able to find help as quickly as possible.

Councillor McAndrew said local services needed to be mapped so Lithgow residents could find help as they needed it.

“There’s a lot of services on the ground. There doesn’t seem to be any coordination of them, some of them seem to be working in isolation,” Cr McAndrew said.

“But based on the little I know now, even what is already available locally, they’re saying they’re stretched and they need support and that’s got to come from government.

“I’ve been told that some [locals] have sought help and they’ve been told we’ve got something in Penrith, we’ve got something in Bathurst, we’ve got something in Katoomba. That is no good, we need something here.”

The short term initiatives the task force have outlined include the support of Walk ‘n’ Talk on April 2 at the Tony Luchetti Sportsground and a more substantial walk, called Out of the Shadows supported by Lifeline on May 7.

Both these walks will seek to raise awareness and give an opportunity for people affected by mental health issues to come together.

Cr McAndrew said council was doing everything within its power to try and look after the community in relation to mental health but stressed the problem could not be solved overnight.

“We need government help to do whatever we can to try and assist people and families confronting that issue.

“We can lobby, we can push, we can knock on doors, we can jump up and down, we can go to the media but ultimately state and federal governments have got to start looking seriously at our specific issues here at our local government area.”

Suicide Prevention and Support Group 1300 133 911

Lifeline 13 11 14