A DAMNING St Vincent de Paul Society social justice statement says the mentally ill ‘have been virtually abandoned by the mental health system’ and calls for a threefold increase in government spending.
The statement, ‘A Long Road to Success’, was prepared by the society in NSW/ACT and has been endorsed in other states.
It was launched in Sydney on July 30 by Brian Burdekin, a former federal human rights commissioner and now a special adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The statement is the outcome of a year of extensive consultations with the society’s members in NSW and the ACT.
The study shows that one in five Australians experiences some form of mental disorder and an increasing number of these people are turning to charities for help, often because there is a lack of government assistance.
