On October 5, from 12:30pm onwards, young people and community members were invited to attend headspace day, which was held in the headspace/ Marathon Health building on Keppel Street.

Headspace Bathurst is an early intervention mental health service, working in conjunction with Marathon Health to enable communities to thrive through improved health and wellbeing, particularly for young people aged 12 - 25 years of age.

Centre manager of headspace Bathurst Jason Eggins, said that the day was all about ensuring young people in the community can find the confidence needed to access the many benefits of the centre.

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"When it comes to engaging young people with a mental health service such as headspace, one of the greatest barriers is that there's a reluctance in health seeking behaviour," he said.

"We really hope that a day like headspace day can break down some of those barriers; where young people can come into a centre like headspace and get a feel for it, and hopefully realise that any feelings of intimidation or reluctance can quickly evaporate once they see what a headspace centre is and what it can do and what it can provide.

"We're hoping that young people ... perhaps by coming down and checking us out ... they can keep us in the back of their mind, and bring us to the fore if need be."

As well as ensuring young people have the conviction to access the centre, the incentives for attending headspace day were clearly enticing.

"We've got some merch, we've got a barbecue, we've got pizza, we've got cold drinks, we've got some games set up, we've got some activities, so if anyone is interested, we would love to have them down here and everyone is welcome, as always," he said.

Bathurst headspace community engagement co-ordinator Sam Bolt said that the day was also a way for people to familiarise themselves with other community groups.

"It's a chance for people to network and get to know not-only what headspace does in the community, but what Marathon Health does in the community ... and to talk to other agencies and see what everyone is doing to support mental health, and the entire health sector in total."

Though the day was dampened by the rain, nothing could dampen Mr Bolt's spirit, especially considering the high foot traffic that made the way through the centre on the day, ensuring the day was a success.

"I'm pretty happy with the turn out considering the weather ... I'm pretty chuffed that a lot of people have come out today," he said.

"Obviously the Bathurst 1000 is on and we've had a lot of rain today, but it's been really good to see; looking around here there's a lot of people who are having insightful conversations, enjoying a barbecue, enjoying some drinks, and just basically talking about what they do in the community."

Some of the insightful conversations taking place during the day were between guests and employees at Marathon Health, the supporting contractor of headspace Bathurst.

Marathon Health general manager- operations Western Sherryn Honeywood said that they were happy to participate in the day because everything to do with headspace is always important to Marathon Health.

"As one of the largest providers of headspace centres in Australia, we know the incredible work the staff do within the community. Joining the headspace Bathurst team in celebrating the day and inviting the community along as well is a great opportunity to connect," she said.

The theme of this years headspace day was 'Pause, Reflect and Reconnect,' and Bathurst's headspace day allowed the time for people to do just that.

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