Yesterday, on Wednesday 23 October, many members, staff and visitors as well as organisations from across the State came together for the annual Mental Health Showcase held in the Fountain Court area of Parliament. The showcase is always an opportunity to spend a little time with people who work in the increasingly important and very complex area of mental health and wellbeing. We need to have more of these drop‑ins and "ask me" style events, set up like a marketplace, with representatives from different mental health organisations hosting display tables and chatting to people not only in the Parliament but also in every electorate across the State. Each organisation specialises in assisting and supporting people in hard‑to‑reach communities. I acknowledge our mental health Minister, Rose Jackson, and the new Mental Health Commissioner, Jennifer Black, who presented the 2024 Community Champion Awards. It was very moving and significant for individuals to be recognised. The parliamentary showcase is an important event during Mental Health Month. It reminds us that many people live with mental illness and many others work tirelessly to help them manage and improve their mental health and wellbeing.

I acknowledge the fabulous Mountains Youth Services Team, known as MYST, in my electorate of Blue Mountains. It was great to have the team in Parliament. I give a shout-out to Jodie Rollason, the CEO; Kate Greenham, the manager of Outdoor Explore; Paige Thurlow-Want, the manager of the youth work team; and Reuben Elstub, case manager. They came to Parliament to talk a bit about what their fabulous organisation does. The Mountains Youth Services Team was established in 1992. It is very deeply connected with communities across the Blue Mountains and collaborates with a range of partners to develop and deliver a supportive constellation of services and activities for young people. It is committed to accessibility, inclusiveness and sustained engagement with young people in the Blue Mountains. Its partnerships and collaborations are vital to being able to support young people, whether they need help occasionally or over many years, and it actively seeks new connections to help expand that reach.

The team is dedicated to supporting young people through therapeutic intervention, skills training and personal development, and to creating cultures of care where young people can flourish. Young people deserve environments that offer them opportunities for meaningful participation in which they feel valued and safe. MYST works with individuals, groups, institutions and communities to help young people and to create conditions where they can shine. I will focus on one of MYST's many programs, because I loved seeing it when I first moved to the mountains many years ago. Outdoor Explore is a youth development program based in the Blue Mountains that uses nature and the experience of adventure in a group setting to achieve a range of biopsychosocial outcomes. There is a whole range of adventurous activities for young people to try. Outdoor Explore facilitators consider individual experience, abilities and goals, as well as team objectives, when selecting venues and difficulty of the challenge, ensuring that adventures are safe and inclusive.

It encourages young people to push their limits, grow in resilience and better understand their own social and emotional growth. At Outdoor Explore, young people can go rock climbing, abseiling, bike riding and bushwalking. Participants learn new skills and confront all sorts of challenges and fears in a supportive environment. As well as those activities, whilst participants are bushwalking or abseiling, the program incorporates discussion topics on personal development and mental wellbeing. Outdoor Explore participants graduate with a whole range of new skills and confidence and peer relationships in which they can lean on one another. And they have lots of fun. It was wonderful to see MYST at Parliament yesterday. I have told its team members that they should come back. I acknowledge the fantastic work they do with young people in the mountains.