b'Our work with young peopleEvery child and young person deserves the best start in life and opportunities to thrive.Social and anime clubsOur early childhood education and care services nurture confident and creativeThe Headspace Horsham Social Club was young learners. Children are encouraged toformed for young men aged between 12-18 explore ideas and express themselves whileyears old. The group meets once a monthlearning, playing and creating friendships. at the Wimmera Wellbeing Centre to learnWhen young people face the challenges ofhow to communicate with others and feel childhood and adolescence, our services arecomfortable in social settings, while doing here to help them on the right path in life.activities like cooking, board games and craft We offer a safe space and a listening earwork. Group members also develop a range of through our mentoring programs. We alsocommunication and mental health techniques provide support to build skills and resiliencethat assist them with meeting other young needed to navigate the transition intopeople and developing positive relationships.adulthood. The local Anime Club is a group of young Our foster and kinship carers offer a safepeople aged between 12-18 years old who are and loving home for children and younginterested in the hand-drawn and computer-people in need of out-of-home care. Throughgenerated animation originating from Japan. emergency, respite, short-term and long- The group meet once a month at the Headspace term care, our carers provide the protection,Horsham centre to discuss, show and promote safety and compassion needed for theseanime and broaden their cultural understanding children and young people to heal. of Japan, China and Korea. Since the creation of the Anime Club in early 2022, our team has seen improvements in the confidence of the young Using virtual reality topeople who attend. support mental healthNavigator Program helps Headspace Wimmera introduced a new Virtualkeep young people on trackReality (VR) 3D Mental Health pilot program. TheThe Navigator Program provides trauma-VR technology is used to support young people toinformed, culturally safe case management for develop relaxation strategies, coping mechanismsyoung people aged 12 to 17 years who have and strengthen their focus, all within a safe anddisengaged from school. The program aims to controlled virtual environment. Uniting is the firstre-engage the young people with education and organisation to introduce the VR early interventiontraining options, or if this is not possible, then method and is working toward introducing it tohelps them find suitable employment. We worked other mental health programs. with the Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-operative (GEGAC), the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) and the Australian Childhood Foundation to implement the program across Eastern Melbourne and Outer Gippsland.16 Uniting Vic.Tas Annual Report 2021-2022'