State MP for Canterbury, Sophie Cotsis and Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Tara Moriarty hosted the ‘Multicultural Mental Health Roundtable’ and met with key organisations that provide mental health services and other stakeholders to discuss the challenges in mental health, the impact of the pandemic and what actions were needed.
Ms Cotsis says mental health has always been an important issue, however Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the community’s mental health, particularly for residents from multicultural backgrounds where mental health is a taboo topic.
“Many mental health service providers receive no funding or support from Government,” she said.
“Demand for these services are severely greater than the resources allocated to our community to help with mental health.”
Key findings from the meeting included: There is an urgent need for funding for mental health workers (particularly case workers) and bi-lingual workers for those from CALD communities; online mental health services have neglected the elderly who may have difficulties with technology; twenty psychologist sessions that are subsidised by Medicare need to remain as a permanent number and; there should be a greater focus on enhancing the capabilities of existing community organisations to provide greater services.
A study conducted by the Black Dog Institute and University of NSW, found 78 per cent of respondents reported that their mental health had worsened since the Covid-19 outbreak, while 64 per cent of respondents reporting elevated depression, anxiety and stress levels respectively.
Sydney Women’s Counselling Centre told the group they have had to reject 212 from their services because they were overwhelmed due to lack of funding and resources to assist locals in their time of need.
