MEDIA RELEASE – The Queensland Alliance for Mental Health is calling for a whole-of-government approach to mental health supports in the wake of the SEQ floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We know there was a mental health crisis even before the pandemic and natural disasters,” QAMH CEO Jennifer Black said.
“And funding for community mental health services in Queensland is one of the lowest per capita in the nation, still sitting at the same level that it was at in 1999.”
Ms Black will put these concerns to the Queensland Mental Health Select Committee Inquiry into the Opportunities to Improve Mental Health Outcome for Queenslanders tomorrow.
“The pandemic, floods and their repercussions for housing, employment and other social determinants must all be considered through a mental health lens,” Ms Black said.
The Queensland Alliance for Mental Health will appear at the Queensland Mental Health Select Committee Inquiry on Thursday 10 March at 11:15am. Watch live on Parliament House stream.
QAMH CEO Jennifer Black will be available for comment afterwards via phone.
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QAMH is the peak body for community-managed mental health organisations, representing more than 120 not-for-profit services that work with people experiencing mental health challenges.
Media contact: Emma Griffiths, QAMH Director – Advocacy and Communications
M: 0439 971 080
QAMH acknowledges and pays deep respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters across Australia. We honour their Elders past and present, whose knowledge, leadership, and cultural practices have sustained these lands for millennia.