A range of health services have been thrust into the spotlight thanks to Dungog's inaugural Community Wellness Festival.
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Dungog Community Centre's manager Kate Murphy said it gave the community a chance to learn what services were available in the area.
"They need to know what support is here because you hear all the time that there's no support for people here and you can't access it but a lot of the time some services are available they're just a little bit invisible in the community," she said.
"The idea is that by bringing them all together people would walk around and say 'I didn't know that we could access that here' and they would get their card and contact details."
The festival, which was held at Barnes Oval on November 17, brought a variety of health service providers to town.
It focused on physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
It attracted Dungog High School students as well as the wider community and they engaged with service providers in a fun and relaxed environment.
"It went really well. It was great having all the high school kids come down and it was great seeing members of the community come out there as well," Ms Murphy said.
"We weren't sure if other members of the community would come but there were quite a lot of other members of the community and the feedback that we got was just great."
Ms Murphy said having to postpone the festival at the end of October due to rain was frustrating but worth it in the end.
"It was obviously really frustrating but it being so successful is a joy, and also a relief, because the first time you do something you don't know what's going to happen," she said.
Samaritans youth engagement officer for Dungog Rachelle Aitken helped organise the event and said the positive community response blew her away.
She said the event provided an opportunity to talk about "some of the complexities that come with living in a small country town" like floods, fires and droughts.
"I think it was a really good, engaging day for the young people because they're not just coming, they're talking about the services," she said.
Angus Michie
Angus Michie is a reporter with the Dungog Chronicle. He has an interest in community and council reporting.
Angus Michie is a reporter with the Dungog Chronicle. He has an interest in community and council reporting.
