a step in the right direction for mental health

The Victorian Government’s announcement of an additional $50 million in community-based mental health funding is a small but significant step in the right direction.

cohealth has been advocating for additional resources for mental health since the transfer of most funding to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This transfer has seen the loss of staff and services across the whole community health sector.The announcement of $50 million was welcomed by cohealth Chief Executive, Lyn Morgain yesterday. Nevertheless, Ms Morgain reminded the government that there was a long way to go before the sector could return to the level of care it was able to provide before 2014.

“People with serious mental illness cannot live in hospital wards or emergency rooms, and neither should we medicalise the experiences of people with mental illness who have a right to a meaningful life in the community,” said Lyn Morgain.

Read the media release.