The state government has announced a $33 million boost to early intervention, youth mental health and community safety services across the state, including a string of new initiatives focused on helping at-risk youth in Melbourne’s west metro region. In Melbourne’s west, a new Youth Mental Health Collaborative, backed by a $300,000 investment, will bring together state-funded services, local headspace centres, alcohol and other drug (AOD) services and community organisations to improve referral pathways and remove barriers to care for young people and their families. The state government said it would also roll out new programs coordinated by its new Violence Reduction Unit, including community support groups in Melton, Brimbank and Wyndham. The community support groups will deliver a new youth employment program designed for multicultural young people. As part of the funding package, the government confirmed a $26.7 million expansion of the Community Forensic Youth Mental Health Service, which supports some of Victoria’s most vulnerable youth at high risk of offending.