I am pleased to announce today that a consortium led by the ORYGEN Research Centre at the University of Melbourne has been selected to establish the Youth Mental Health Foundation as the centrepiece of the Australian Government's $69 million "Promoting Better Mental Health" initiative.
The Foundation will have access to $54 million in government funding over four years to improve the coordination of mental health services for young people. It will provide a centre of excellence for evidence-based practice in youth mental health, improve the skills of GPs and other service providers in helping mental health patients, increase community awareness of youth mental health issues and encourage young people to seek help when they need it.
The consortium brings together a number of experienced organisations - ORYGEN, the Brain and Mind Research Institute, the Australian Divisions of General Practice and the Australian Psychological Society - to work towards improving the mental health of young Australians.
The Foundation will be supported by an Advisory Board of youth mental health and drug and alcohol experts, young people and representatives from key national mental health bodies.
Mr Ryan Stokes will be the inaugural Chairman of the Foundation. Mr Stokes' leadership will be of great assistance in getting out the right messages about youth mental health to young people and the broader community.
Young Australians are particularly vulnerable when it comes to mental illness. One in four young Australians suffer from a mental illness in any one year and three-quarters of all mental health problems begin before the age of 25.
The Foundation will help ensure that young people with mental health and drug and alcohol problems get the help they need.