A new mobile mental health program to connect with young people who fall through the gaps of traditional services has been funded on the Gold Coast.

The State-Government funded Assertive Mobile Youth Outreach Service (AMYOS) is due to launch mid-year and will provide access to psychiatrists and clinicians at home or in the community.

Child and youth mental health services director Dr Stephen Stathis says the service works to build relationships between staff and patients.

“They’re mobile, so instead of waiting for young people to come to them, their specific brief is to go out to connect to the young people in the community, that might be in their homes, in their schools, if they’re attending a ‘voc-ed’ program at TAFE or maybe in the local park,” he said.

Dr Stathis says the service is modelled on a Victorian system and will fill a gap for young people who struggle to access orthodox services.

“What AMYOS does is try to connect and establish relationships and treatment with these young people who for whatever reason are unable or unwilling to engage with the more traditional forms of mental health service delivery,” he said.

This article first appeared on ‘ABC’ on 16 April 2014.