The newsletter this month highlights that the theme for Mental Health Month this year is “Let’s talk about it”. At Flourish Australia we have been talking about mental health and mental ill-health for close to 70 years. We have also been supporting people with lived experience to do so, providing them with opportunities to talk about their lived experience, their mental health recovery journeys, and what works and does not work for them in relation to mental health supports.
This month I commend to you the great personal stories of recovery by Roslyn and Nadia. Roslyn’s recovery ambitions are nothing short of inspirational, focussed on supporting others to live their best lives. Nadia’s story of the importance of poetry in her life shows how important the arts and creativity can be to recovery. Nadia kindly recited some of her poems at our art exhibition held at our Buckingham House site last Thursday. Not only a talented poet, Nadia’s performance of her poems was terrific.
As we talk about mental health this month I reflect on the recent meeting of Health and Mental Health Ministers from across Australia who came together to talk about a range of issues, one of them being the Analysis of Unmet Need for Psychosocial Support Report. This report estimated the number of people with a moderate or severe mental illness who needed specialised mental health supports that were not receiving them. Alarmingly, the report estimated that at 30 June 2023, 263,100 people with moderate and 230,500 people with severe mental illness aged 12 -64 years of age are not receiving supports. The report also rightly highlighted that families and carers also need supports, but is a little less clear about what the unmet need is.
That’s close to half a million Australians not receiving the supports they need.
In a country that prides itself in universal health care, and which loves our flagship Medicare Benefits Scheme, these numbers are problematic.
Discussions are occurring about Foundational Supports for people outside of the NDIS, NDIS reforms for people with psychosocial disability, and the future of the Commonwealth Psychosocial Support Program. These discussions are welcome, but it is unclear whether they will deliver the required supports for everyone who needs them, including those not receiving supports right now.
The solution to these challenges is in the hands of our Governments across the Nation. Health and Mental Health Ministers have committed to meeting every six months to discuss issues in relation to mental health funding and reform, and have prioritised a discussion about supports for people with psychosocial disability at their next meeting early in 2025. That’s great news. I am hoping we’ll get a commitment from Ministers to invest in specialised mental health services so we can deliver the right supports at the right time for everyone who needs them.
We must address the unmet needs gap as a matter of priority, and provide the support people with lived experience, their families and carers need so that they can reclaim their social citizenship and be part of their local communities.
Mark Orr AM
Chief Executive
