The national conversation on the National Mental Health Commission’s 2030 Vision for mental health and suicide prevention, known as the Connections Project, will visit Safety Beach on Thursday, 5th September.
The Commission is visiting Safety Beach as part of a 26 city tour across Australia during July, August and September for their input into this important national conversation.
Federal Member for Flinders, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, encouraged all those involved in mental health and suicide prevention, especially those with living experience, carers, families and supporters to attend the town hall meeting.
“Delivering the world’s best mental health system – stigma-free and focused on prevention, is the major focus of the Australian Government’s Long Term National Health Plan,” Mr Hunt said.
“We know everyone’s experience of the mental health system is different. The National Mental Health Commission wants to hear from the community of its triumphs and challenges.
“The Connections Project provides a unique opportunity for those with lived experience to be part of the conversation and I urge all interested locals to join with me in attending.”
The community town hall meeting will also be attended by the National Mental Health Commission CEO, Christine Morgan, and Chair, Lucy Brogden.
Ms Morgan said the Commission is committed to ensuring people with living experience of mental health and suicidality have access to and are supported in the best way possible, in a connected and well-functioning system.
“Connections is an Australia-wide conversation towards a shared vision. We know everyone’s experience of the mental health system is different and we want to hear from people about what has worked for them to date, their challenges and any barriers, and what they envision for the future,” she said.
“This is about ensuring that the voices of those with a living experience of mental health and suicidality are involved in Australia’s 2030 Vision for mental health, and are contributing to the design of an improved approach”
Ms Morgan agreed that the last few years had seen considerable reforms to the way mental health is funded, and to whole-of-system investments in new programs and services, which has led to new and exciting opportunities for doing things differently.
“What is needed now is a unified mental health system that takes a whole-of-person, whole-of-life, whole-of-community approach to mental health. A system which is accessible in-community, is easy to navigate, and delivers meaningful outcomes for the individual. At its heart, a vision of a new system will essentially respond to a person’s individual needs in their community.”
Those wishing to attend can register their interest at https://makingconnections-safetybeach.eventbrite.com.au/
Those unable to attend can also have their say through the recently launched National Mental Health Commission online survey, to broaden the conversation and allow everyone to contribute to the 2030 Vision for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, regardless of their location. This can be directly accessed at: https://consultation.mentalhealthcommission.gov.au/policy-projects/connections/