Mental health needs action from Government departments outside health

Objective: The Minister for Health and Children ensures that key Government Departments take specific action on mental health

WHY?
The right to the highest possible standard of mental health does not just mean effective mental health services. It also means that you must have access to fundamental human rights like employment, housing and education. Not only can access to such rights support your mental health, but they can also act as an aid to recovery for people with mental health problems.

Sadly this fact continues to be ignored. So we are calling on key Government departments to take specific actions on mental health. These six departments are: Justice, Employment, Education, Housing, Social Welfare, and the Arts. If the departments do not take responsibility things will be the same in 20 years time for people with mental health problems.

WHAT?
We have outlined specific actions for key Government departments in our report The Missing Link: coordinated Government action on mental health.

We will ensure that the National Disability Strategy has a mental health focus so that its benefit to people with mental health problems can be assessed and that the departments take account of important recommendations in A Vision for Change that are not covered in the strategy.

We will lobby the Government so that these actions are fulfilled.

RESOURCES

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