IMPROVING youth mental health has become a multiplayer game in Tamworth.
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Just off Peel St, an unlikely duo has teamed-up to give youngsters the armoury they need to take on the real world, stemming from a shop built on fantasy.
While headspace and Lots Moore Gaming have left a mark on a growing gaming community, figures reveal the amount of young people reaching out for help in Tamworth is almost 20 per cent higher than the national average.
Tamworth’s headspace office had 3780 “occasions of service” in the last financial year, markedly highly than the national average of 3164.
Youth and community engagement officer Avril Oakley-Hollow said the Tamworth office could be busier than larger, metropolitan centres.
She said the figures could be down to people travelling in from around the region for services and stigma surrounding mental health slowly coming down.
“It’s been constant, we just try to meet the needs,” she said.
The primary age group of people accessing headspace in Tamworth was 15 to 17-years-old, Ms Oakley-Hollow said.
Helping more than its fair share youngsters in the community, it mightn’t be any surprise the organisation has a growing group of supporters in town.
Ben Kotwa is a regular Warhammer combatant at the gaming store and has also accessed service through headspace.
“It’s a really nice place to come and not be judged for anything,” he said.
“There’s a lot of other people with similar situations to yourself.”
The gaming store hosted a fundraiser for headspace on Thursday and owner Melissa Moore said “there’s a big need for them to stay in Tamworth”.
Mrs Moore has watched a community, unintentionally, grow around the gaming store and friendships.
“People do isolate themselves, but it’s not healthy for us, as humans we need to connect to people,” she said.
“People who play games do feel judged to a certain degree, but they shouldn’t feel that way because there are plenty of people who love the game.”