$80 million to help Australians with a mental illness

Australians with a severe mental illness will continue to have access to intensive, one-on-one support through an $80.3 million over three years funding extension to the Personal Helpers and Mentors (PHaMs) program.

Through this funding, 33 providers offering services at 58 locations across Australia will be able to continue to employ 290 full-time equivalent personal helpers and mentors to work individually with people with mental illnesses.

Since 2007 PHaMs services have helped around 9,000 people with a mental illness.

PHaMs is designed to help people with a severe mental illness reconnect with the wider community and live more independent and satisfying lives.

Working one-on-one with participants, personal helpers and mentors provide practical help with setting and achieving personal goals, such as finding suitable housing, using public transport or improving relationships with family and friends.

By building their confidence and increasing their connections within the community, personal helpers and mentors help participants overcome the social isolation that can be so crippling for someone with a mental illness.

PHaMs is an innovative model for supporting people with a severe mental illness in the community, rather than solely in medical services. Early findings from an independent evaluation show that participants in the program had more confidence to re-connect with mainstream health services, learnt new skills and were less socially isolated.

This $80.3 million funding extension will allow services to continue for the thousands of people who are already benefiting from PHaMs, as well as new participants who can benefit from these services in the future.

There are over 170 PHaMs sites operating across the country, including specialist sites that focus on people who are homeless, refugees and Indigenous Australians.