I WRITE on behalf of the not-for-profit Mental Illness Fellowship Australia to highlight to readers that if you or someone you know is facing a mental health issue, reach out.
Help is out there.
It is absolutely critical that there is much more action from all governments to support people in your area who have severe mental health issues.
It is now estimated an alarming 68 per cent of people who have severe mental health issues are missing out on any kind of community support to help them… that’s nearly seven out of 10.
We are completely focused on getting rid of the stigma around severe mental illness in particular.
It is time we all realised people who are affected need our support.
On average, people with severe mental illness die 23 years earlier than the general population.
Statistics show 50 per cent of people with severe mental illness attempt suicide, compared to 3.7 per cent of the general population.
A huge number of people who have a severe or complex mental illness are getting no community support whatsoever for their condition.
It is critical to end the massive neglect of people who have mental illness in Australia.
Thousands and thousands of Australians with mental health issues are ending up in our local hospitals and emergency departments because they believe it is the only option for them.
We are highlighting as part of this new awareness campaign that the current system unfortunately actively channels people into emergency and hospital services, placing massive extra pressure on the system.
So much trauma is involved with this process.
We urge people in your area to realise recovery is unquestionably possible.
We have a key not-for-profit network called Finding North which has become a growing community on the internet, to link people with mental health issues with others in a similar situation so they can share their experiences.
To get more information, just visit the website (www.findingnorth.org.au), it is a powerful tool for readers to easily access.
Tony Stevenson, National chief executive of the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia
