THE Transcultural Mental Health Line (TMHL) is a new service staffed by registered bilingual mental health professionals covering languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Korean, Vietnamese and Ukrainian.

Created for people for whom English may be their third or fourth language, who are seeking mental health support, the phone line provides speakers fluent in up to 30 different languages.

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Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said this new phone line would support people from diverse communities who are struggling with their mental health to access appropriate services.

“While there is a wide range of mental health services available to all NSW residents, language and different cultural understandings of mental health can act as a barrier for people when accessing services,” Bronnie Taylor said.

“This new phone line will support people to get the help they need, with a specialist team of healthcare professionals ready to provide care and connect people with the appropriate services.”

The service is available Monday to Friday between 9.00am to 4.30pm on 1800 648 911.

The Coffs Harbour branch of not-for-profit STARTTS (NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors), which works with people from diverse nationalities, welcomed the delivery of the Transcultural Mental Health Line.

“This service will be very useful for Coffs Harbour’s diverse population as we collectively speak 127 languages,” Rebecca Blayney, Community Development Project Officer at STARTTS Coffs Harbour told NOTA.

“Accessing mental health support in regional NSW has its own challenges but for many of our clients they also face language barriers and a lack of knowledge about Australian systems.

“The line makes it more likely that someone with limited English who needs mental health support will make the call and get the help they, or their loved one, needs.

“Mental health support in first language is important for everyone and this service initiated by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre will complement other services such as STARTTS’ Witness to War phone line.”

Jeeranan Lachee comes from a refugee background and currently volunteers for the local STARTTS’s Multilingual Information Co-op (MICO) in Coffs Harbour.

“I am Kachin nationality from Thailand,” Jeeranan said.

“As I am a migrant and English is my fourth language I have lots of times been struggling to communicate with the doctor or customer service at the shopping centre.

“I also had a friend who had been struggling when she did her learner driver’s licence tests.

“This new phone line support is very helpful for the refugee community.

“In my experience I felt very happy when I got things I needed fixed through communication.

“I also believe that other people are experiencing the same as me and need to get support to help them to get what they need.

“So this mental health phone support in many different languages will be very beneficial and helpful with everyone who has limited English,” said Jeeranan.

The Transcultural Mental Health Line joins a host of services, programs and initiatives funded by the NSW Government to support the mental health of people from diverse communities.

This includes the funding of STARTTS, which offers a 24/7 counselling service for people that have experienced trauma related to war and violence overseas.

The Transcultural Mental Health Line (TMHL) number is 1800 648 911

For multilingual mental health resources, visit the Transcultural Mental Health Centre website via www.dhi.health.nsw.gov.au/tmhc.

Visit the STARTTS Coffs Harbour Facebook page for more information.

By Andrea FERRARI