How befitting that on World Mental Health Week 2020 Robinvale District Health Services are able to bring the dream to life.
When Luke started this project back in January, it probably wasn't apparent to him that it would ever come to life. Afterall, $42,000 is a very lofty fundraising total for a single man to raise alone, but this week, all of that hard work pays off.
This week the dream of a FREE, walk-in mental health clinic comes to life, fully equipped with two amazing, highly qualified mental health professionals.
Luke has just under $2,000 to reach that $42,000 fundraising total, but due to circumstances surrounding Covid and the ability to attract two mental health professionals to Robinvale District Health Service the clinic is able to begin before the expected date in 2021.
"I just can't believe it. I don't think it ever actually occurred to me that it might ACTUALLY happen. I've been so focused on getting the training & fundraising done I don't think I thought about how I would feel if and when it actually happened." Luke said.
"I don't quite know how to take all of this praise, and I don't think I actually deserve it. Anita and the RDHS team deserve most of it. I just raised the cash. They've found the staff, they've made it all happen but the fact that we now have this clinic available to anyone in the area, regardless of what side of the river you're on is just phenomenal!" He said.
The free, walk-in mental health clinic is now open THREE DAYS PER WEEK, Monday, Wednesday & Friday between 9am & 1pm with a private waiting area in the second entrance of primary care.
The clinic is open to those with clinically diagnosed mental health conditions, carers looking for support, individuals who may not have a diganosed condition but need to talk to someone about anything at all.
No referrals are needed but are welcome from other health professionals. Outside of these hours you can make an appointment with the Robinvale District Health Services Mental Health Team by calling Primary Health on
5051 8111
"RDHS is committed to improving mental health services in the town and is hopeful that this service will have a positive impact on the mental health of the community. " says Manager of Primary Care Anita Erlandsen.
As a culmination to the project, Luke will run his marathon along the Murray River in Robinvale on Saturday 31st October.
The original plan was for Luke to run the Melbourne Marathon with his running coach Rohan Armstrong from Run Well Marathon Training but of course, Covid caused the cancellation of the event which was due to be held on October 4th.
This meant a little reorganising of training plans for Rohan and Luke, but it does mean he can run the event now on his home ground of Robinvale, and he invites anyone who's interested to run along with him.
You can nominate the distance you'd like to run (you don't have to run 42km of course) but Luke would love some support on the day.
If you'd like to participate as a support runner, please register before Thursday 28th October 2020.
You can do that on the events page of the website: 42kfor42k.com.au
Luke is available for phone and zoom interviews at anytime. You can schedule these directly with Luke on
0499 499 640 or with his campaign and PR manager Jade on 0439 66 22 51.
