Page 4147 - Week 12 - Thursday, 1 December 2022
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Some young people might not be able to pinpoint a particular thing in life that is getting them down, they might just be feeling blue.
Members, we should do everything in our power to support young people who need our help. The Australian Bureau of Statistics National study of mental health and wellbeing found that almost two in five people aged 16 to 24 years had a 12-month mental disorder in the previous year. Split by gender, almost half of females aged 16 to 24 years and almost one third of males aged 16 to 24 years had a 12-month mental disorder.
In my electorate of Yerrabi, this is a significant issue. As reported in the 2021 Census, 35.3 per cent of Gungahlin’s population are young people below 24 years of age. This number is still likely to grow in the coming years in the booming suburbs of Gungahlin. Given the ABS statistics on the prevalence of mental disorders in young people, we can safely assume that a large portion of Gungahlin’s kids are doing it tough. We know these mental health problems have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why, among other things, the motion I am moving today seeks an update on the implementation of the position statement on youth mental health recovery from COVID-19. Minister Davidson has done fantastic work in designing this statement and I am keen to hear from her on how it is adapting as we continue to recover from the pandemic.
I would also like to acknowledge the ACT government has invested in several great measures to support young people, their families, friends, carers and service providers. The 2022-23 budget includes an additional $70 million over four years for mental health and community health care support. This builds on over $40 million already provided to support mental health since May 2020, including new funding for youth measures such as $8.1 million over four years to expand mental health supports for youth and young adults to address priority needs of young people who are experiencing or are at risk of mental health concerns and/or suicide and self-harm. It also includes the expansion of the Childhood Early Intervention Team to the Gungahlin Child and Family Centre, the impending inauguration of the adolescent mental health ward at Canberra Hospital, a number of grants and initiatives to support vulnerable or disadvantaged children to participate in sport and recreational activities that improve their physical wellbeing, health and social skills, the ongoing redevelopment of the Watson Health Precinct that will deliver a new purpose built facility for CatholicCare’s STEPS voluntary mental health residential program for kids 13 to 18 years old and establishing new eating disorder programs and services, including STRIDE, a parent support program and the services of the ACT Eating Disorders Clinical Hub, as well as progressing work towards establishing an early intervention service for eating disorders and the construction of the ACT’s first eating disorder residential centre.
These investments are great news for young people across the ACT. The ACT government also knows that figuring out where to get help for mental illnesses can be confusing for young people. To address this, the online youth navigation portal MindMap has just been rolled out, aiming to support young people to find the care they need across the mental health system. The ACT government has also funded the Orygen digital mental health care platform MOST through which young people aged 12 to 25 can access online therapy, tools and programs. Although MindMap and
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