Introducing Distress Brief Support in the Atherton Tablelands and Mareeba Region

Across the Atherton Tablelands and Mareeba region, people look out for one another every day — in local cafés, on sports fields, at neighbourhood centres, in faith and cultural groups, in the workplace and in countless informal community spaces. Many of the first conversations about stress or tough times happen long before someone reaches a formal service.

Distress Brief Support (DBS) builds on this natural strength. Funded by Northern Queensland PHN and delivered in partnership between Beacon Strategies and Mareeba Community Centre, DBS is a local, community-based approach to supporting people who are experiencing distress.

The aim is simple:

Provide a compassionate first response where people already are, and offer a clear, warm pathway to short-term support when someone wants extra help.

What is Distress Brief Support?

Distress Brief Support has two connected parts — one centred in community, and one offering short-term assistance.

Community Engagement Points

Community Engagement Points are the everyday places and people where conversations naturally happen — small businesses, sports and recreation clubs, community and neighbourhood centres, workplaces, libraries, Men’s Sheds, cultural groups, and local services.

Their role is practical and grounded:

• Notice when someone might be doing it tough
• Respond with care and compassion
• Offer a simple next step if the person wants more support

This isn’t about diagnosing, fixing or providing clinical advice. It’s about creating space for someone to feel heard and supported at a moment when it matters.

The Wellbeing Team

If a person wants additional help, CEPs can connect them with the Wellbeing Team at the Mareeba Community Centre.

The Wellbeing Team provides:

• Free support
• Confidential conversations
• Short-term assistance (up to 3 weeks)
• Outreach and local meeting points across the region

Support starts within 48 hours and focuses on what the person needs right now — practical steps, connection to supports, and strengthening their own coping resources.

Why this approach matters

Distress is a common human experience. It can be linked to pressures such as relationship changes, financial strain, housing challenges, ageing, or feeling disconnected. Not everyone needs or wants to access a clinical service straight away. Often, the first thing people need is to feel noticed, listened to and understood.

DBS strengthens these early moments of support by:

• Building community capability
• Reducing stigma and barriers to help
• Offering a local, person-centred pathway
• Ensuring people are not left to navigate services alone

It’s a simple idea with a meaningful impact:

Community members responding to distress with care, and a trained team ready to step in when more help is wanted.

How Community Engagement Points are supported

People and organisations who participate as Community Engagement Points aren’t expected to do the work alone. They have access to:

• Regular check-ins with the program coordinator
• Training to build confidence in responding to distress
• Practical resources and tools
• Opportunities to connect with others in the network

This support helps Community Engagement Points feel prepared, backed, and confident in offering a first response.

A connected local response

Distress Brief Support isn’t a crisis service. If there are immediate safety concerns, emergency services and helplines remain essential. What DBS offers is a coordinated, local way to respond earlier — in the settings where people are already seeking connection.

By strengthening the role of community touchpoints and linking them with a responsive wellbeing team, DBS creates a more compassionate, consistent response to distress across the Atherton Tablelands and Mareeba region.

Download the Distress Brief Support flyer for Atherton Tablelands and Mareeba Region here.

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