A RE-ELECTED ACT Labor government will commit $200 million a year to increase mental health resources for young people in the territory. 

In a recent ACT government survey, more than half of young Canberrans described their mental health as either “fair” or “poor”.

ACT Labor leader Andrew Barr says COVID-19 is having significant impact on young people in Canberra, and if re-elected, Labor will deliver the Orygen Digital’s ground?breaking youth mental health digital platform (MOST), which is specifically designed to empower young people in the management of their mental health and wellbeing.

“The platform will complement new and existing face-to-face services and provide young people with online clinical and peer support,” he says.

“The online platform [will] be available to almost 5000 young Canberrans who accessed our Headspace and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) services every year.”

Labor will also establish a multidisciplinary service to support young people who have mental health needs co-occurring with trauma, disability and/or drug and alcohol abuse.

“We will also establish an intensive trauma service for adolescents built on the Melaleuca Place model to support the recovery of 13 to 17-year-olds who have experienced trauma, including abuse or neglect,” Mr Barr says.