October 10 is World Mental Health Day, a day to challenge perceptions of mental health and recognise the part we all play in creating a culture that supports mental health. One in five Australians live with a mental health condition and the Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) is committed to working in partnership to build a culture that includes people with mental health conditions.
The theme for World Mental Health day, Do You See What I See, highlights the stigma around mental health conditions and helps pave the way for people to seek support.
MHCC is proud to lead a sector that supports people living with mental health conditions to live fulfilling lives in the communities of their choice. We understand that investing in community mental health makes economic sense, by providing support when and where it is needed.
MHCC champions the value that people with lived experience of mental health conditions bring to policy development and service delivery, as pioneers of peer workforce training and leaders in co-design in mental health policy.
Throughout Mental Health Month, MHCC is running events that connect service providers, build the skills of the mental health workforce and bring the concerns of the sector to the doorstep of the NSW Parliament.
CEO of MHCC Carmel Tebbutt said World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to highlight the important role community mental health services play in supporting people living with mental health conditions.
Community mental health organisations provide a range of services including: self help and peer support; accommodation support and outreach, employment and education services; family and carer services, and helplines and counselling.
“There is strong evidence that expanding community based mental health services would improve health and social outcomes for people living with mental health conditions and reduce hospital admissions
We need to see greater resources for mental health services and to shift the emphasis from hospital treatment towards prevention and community support. Priority areas for investment include supported living services, step-up/step-down places and community mental health hubs with a range of co-located and peer support services.”
Research undertaken by KPMG for the MHCC demonstrate investment in these types of initiatives will pay for itself in the short term and result in significant savings in the long term.