Emma Davidson says investing in mental health support saves money overall. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
The ACT Greens have pledged to pilot Canberra’s first ever no-cost, drop-in youth crisis centre to support children and young people in need of mental health support if they lead government after the October election.
The party also promised more mental health safe havens for adults, new eating disorder services, perinatal inpatient units and a neurodivergence centre.
While Labor Chief Minister Andrew Barr previously criticised the Greens for making expensive, uncosted promises, Greens Health spokeswoman Emma Davidson says her proposed mental health initiatives will save the Territory money.
“We are already paying for the cost of unmet needs through our health and social services in ways that are more expensive and give people worse outcomes than if we addressed their mental distress at the first available point,” she said.
“Having someone turn up in an emergency department doesn’t give them a good outcome and it’s a lot more expensive … we want to provide them with the right support [earlier].
“A person comes from a whole lot of life experiences that impact on their mental wellbeing. That’s why we want to fund a range of services that can help them work through the drivers that are impacting on their state of mind.”
The Safe Haven Cafe in Belconnen. Photo: ACT Health.
The Greens’ proposed youth facility will include therapy rooms, open floor areas for groups and workshops, a café in the reception area and a sensory area – a space with special lighting, music, and objects designed to develop a person’s senses.
“A young person has a whole lot of life experiences that impact on their mental wellbeing,” Ms Davidson said.
“That’s not something you can solve with a prescription or hospital stay. We want young people to know they can go somewhere safe, that’s not a clinic, where they can get support even if they don’t recognise that what they’re experiencing is a mental health crisis.
“We’d like to co-design the first service with youth workers, with people with live experience and with mental health experts. We’d co-design where it should be and what type of service it could offer.”
Ms Davison has also pledged to establish three more mental health drop-in centres for adults (Safe Havens) to go alongside the existing facility in Belconnen (for those aged 16 and over).
“We’d like to have one Safe Haven in every town centre, a short bus ride away from everyone.
“It’s somewhere people can go in without an appointment, without even having to give your name if you don’t want to, without a Medicare card, somewhere when you can just say ‘this is how I’m feeling’ and get help with that.”
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