Logan’s Youth Step Up Step Down (SUSD) service attracted a strong turnout of local health professionals and partners at a recent open day, raising awareness of the important support it provides to young people.
The SUSD team proudly showcased the welcoming facility and the life-changing support it provides to young people navigating their mental health journey.
Team Leader Stacey Sobolewski explained the program delivered recovery-focused care aimed at preventing unnecessary hospital admissions and supporting a safe transition home following inpatient treatment.
“This means stepping up before a crisis becomes overwhelming, and stepping down after hospital, so recovery and life in the community become real,” Stacey said.
The service offers a comfortable, home-like environment where young people aged 16 to 21 can stay for up to 28 days. During their stay, they can access short-term intensive mental health support including psychosocial interventions, group programs and individualised recovery planning.
More than 100 attendees — including Metro South colleagues, non-government organisation partners and executives from Townsville Hospital and Health Service, where a new service was announced earlier this year — toured the facility and met with staff.
Visitors were shown communal living areas, therapy spaces and outdoor areas designed to promote connection, stability and wellbeing. Feedback on the day highlighted the importance of strong collaboration between clinical teams and community partners in improving outcomes for young people.
Stacy said the open day strengthened awareness of Logan’s SUSD and reinforced its role in improving access to timely mental health care for young people in the community.