Helper on hold as funds dry up

A NOT-for-profit Hobart organisation founded to help teenagers deal with stress and anxiety has been forced to pause its activities because it has been unable to attract funding.

Insight Mindfulness Education, known as I’ME, was founded in 2017 by Hobart teacher Grant Milbourne who received a leadership award at the Young Achiever Awards last year for his work.

Mr Milbourne said the organisation had run four mindfulness retreats for teenagers over the past two years with very little funding.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have an extraordinary group of professional volunteers to staff our retreats and an extremely skilled team of meditation teachers,” he said.

“We have supported 54 teenagers regarding their mental and emotional wellbeing and have received extremely positive feedback from parents regarding the retreat and how it has supported their children and their families.”

Mr Milbourne said I’ME had worked tirelessly to secure funding from the private sector and the State Government.

“Our organisation is the only one of its kind in Australia, and operates out of Tasmania,” Mr Milbourne said.

He said a Monash University study into the program’s outcomes had shown that teenagers who participated in a retreat had developed greater levels of mindfulness, selfcompassion and mental wellbeing.

Mr Milbourne said while there were some great mental health services available, there was nothing else like I’ME, which focused on prevention.

I’ME now will provide information via its Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson said he had given advice about funding opportunities.

“I also introduced I’ME to a number of other local and national non-government organisations through which [Mr Milbourne] might partner or explore future opportunities for funding or promoting the services,” he said.