Centacare New England North West will provide a listening ear and support during tough times.

Centacare NENW has a variety of free and low-cost services to help you get back on track and find hope.

Across the New England and North West, Centacare supports families – parents, care givers, and children – to build their resilience and live happy lives.

Call 1800 372 826 or visit the website centacarenenw.com.au to find out more about courses for children, adults, and growing as a family.

With almost 60 years of community participation, Challenge Community Services has the expertise required to support people with disabilities.

Challenge Therapeutic Services team leader Helen Anglias is a psychologist with more than 20 years’ experience in her field.

Her team helps NDIS participants create a behaviour plan tailored to their individual circumstances.

The team focuses on developing strategies and providing support tailored to participants’ individual environment and lifestyle, helping them to become more functional and productive in their life.

“We take into consideration the family and care culture so we can tailor a behaviour plan that is appropriate for the school, day services and home environment, which can be used to provide assistance to carers, teachers, and parents,” Ms Anglias said. 

“We make contact with the family or carers and visit the participant’s home so we can provide an appropriate assessment based on their own living environment, not in a clinical, disconnected office.”

When the Therapeutic Services team assesses a participant’s needs, they take into account what is already in place; looking at what’s working and what is not. This enables them to expand upon what works well and change those aspects that aren’t the right fit.

For more information phone 1800 795 441 or walk-in referrals are welcome at Challenge Community Services at 124 Carthage Street, Tamworth.

New England Pathology is a local, pathology and public provider which has been operating across the district for at least 60 years and employs 47 workers.

“Our clients include doctors, specialists, hospitals and individuals, we’re an integral part of the health sector,” laboratory manager Don Clausen said.

The service has collection centres across the district. All speciality testing is conducted by the service.

You don’t need to travel to the big smoke to gain your qualifications as a counsellor.

The College of Counselling Studies NENW offers training in centres across the region.

Based in Tamworth, the college has been delivering courses about personal growth and interpersonal skills, training counsellors across the New England for more than 30 years. 

“The idea of training counsellors in the New England North West of NSW came about because people believed the best way to have counsellors who understand the stresses of rural living ... is to train the people who live in the country, without them needing to leave the country to train,” college president Jenny Regan said.

“Our college provides training which allows local people, who understand local issues, to study and then counsel in their own communities.”

The college offers a diploma of counselling studies and two short courses; one on conflict resolution and the other on personal development.

The college has tutors in centres across the region, which is good news since the federal government tips counselling work in Australia is expected to grow by about 23 per cent by 2020, making it a field with many opportunities. For more information, phone 6762 0844.