Victorian mental health money dries up

Emergency money provided to organisations under a state government package to boost mental health support services during the pandemic has finished.

Some key Victorian mental health programs funded under a Victorian government Covid assistance package has dried up despite ongoing demand for the services.

State government money for some key Victorian mental health programs funded under a Covid assistance package has dried up despite ongoing demand for the services.

Kids Helpline YourTown was one of more than 15 organisations and programs that received a portion of $59.4m worth of emergency money announced in April 2020 by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ government to provide a “vital surge capacity for key (mental health) services”.

Kids Helpline virtual service manager Tony Fitzgerald said up to 12 extra counsellors were recruited following two rounds of $500,000 they received from the package. But that funding ended on July 1, leaving them unlikely to be able to employ additional counsellors to meet demand for young people who continue to suffer following two years of lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions.

“The direct impact of that is that we don’t have that additional funding to maintain those levels of counsellors,” he said.

“That’s not to say that we’re putting counsellors off, but what it does mean is that we have to ­reduce our recruitment.

“If additional funding is provided for Kids Helpline … that means we’re answering more calls from young people, and a proportion of those calls will be young people who are at immediate risk of harm. If our counsellors can respond to that and support them, we know that there is usually a very positive outcome.”

Mr Fitzgerald said the Victorian government had knocked back three formal requests for funding in the past three years.

“We have approached them on three occasions since 2019, to provide ongoing funding, but that hasn’t been successful,” he said.

Other providers were also said they were concerned about the end of the funding.

Opposition mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said demand for youth mental health services had soared. “It is desperately shortsighted and cruel that the government has cut funding at a critical time,” she said.