p style=”text-align: justify”>More people with severe mental illness, their families and carers in Ballarat will have greater access to support services and other practical assistance close to home thanks to a $121 million boost from the Gillard Government.
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More people with severe mental illness, their families and carers in Ballarat will have greater access to support services and other practical assistance close to home thanks to a $121 million boost from the Gillard Government.
Federal Member for Ballarat Catherine King said the expanded services are part of the Government’s record $2.2 billion national mental health reforms.
Mind Australia in Ballarat will receive an additional $658,805 to employ 2 new Personal Helpers and Mentors (PHaMs) to work one-on-one with people with mental illness across Ballarat. This brings total funding for Mind Australia to $1.6 million to employ 7 local PHaMs.
“Personal Helpers and Mentors help people to reconnect to health care, the workforce and their communities,” Catherine King said.
“This program has already been a big help to more than 21,000 Australians with severe mental illness, who are benefitting from practical assistance which helps them achieve their personal goals, participate more fully in the community, develop better relationships with family and friends, and manage their everyday tasks.
“From today, we will see even more people accessing this valuable service in Ballarat.
“The Gillard Government is providing new PHaMs employment workers in Ballarat because we understand how important it is to help people with severe mental illness build their capacity to find and keep a job and stay connected with their community,” Ms King said.
“We know that finding and keeping a job is one of the best ways for people to stay connected.
“The Gillard Government is delivering practical assistance to people with mental illness to help them achieve their personal goals, participate more fully in their community and in work, develop better relationships with family and friends, and manage their everyday tasks.”
With the launch of the Grampians Medicare Local yesterday and the opening of the Ballarat headspace in a few months, we are seeing people across the Ballarat and region receiving better local access to mental health care.