- $4.9 million invested to support innovation in mental health and wellbeing across Queensland.
- The Mental Health and Wellbeing Grant program is providing nearly $2.9 million to community organisations to drive local mental health and wellbeing initiatives.
- The Better Futures Grants program has invested almost $2 million to support innovative approaches, with a focus on digital mental health, young people and perinatal mental health.
The Queensland Mental Health Commission on behalf of the Queensland Government has invested almost $4.9 million into mental health initiatives via two grant programs. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Grants program will see 22 organisations across Queensland share almost $2.9 million in funding for local mental health and wellbeing initiatives.
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Grants were open to not-for-profit and community organisations to support and promote mental health and wellbeing, prevent the impact of mental ill-health, encourage help-seeking and/or improve mental health literacy to meet local community needs.
The grants takes forward priorities in Shifting minds: The Queensland Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs, and Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan 2023-2028.
Community initiatives throughout Queensland were funded, with a focus on rural, regional and remote communities and priority populations.
The Better Futures Grant program has invested almost $2 million into innovative initiatives that build knowledge on what works to prevent and reduce the impact of mental ill-health, alcohol and other drug use concerns, and suicide.
Eight organisations received funding, with a particular focus on digital mental health solutions, young people and perinatal mental health.
Queensland Mental Health Commissioner Ivan Frkovic on the grants:
“I’m very pleased to announce the outcomes of two important grant programs the Commission has delivered.
“The Mental Health and Wellbeing grant program recognises the vital role local community organisations play in mental health and wellbeing and the unique knowledge they have on what works in their communities.
“It’s great to see so many initiatives funded from Cairns to Wide Bay with 86% of grants funding to initiatives in regional, rural and remote Queensland.
“The Better Futures Grant program will also support mental health and wellbeing outcomes, trialling innovative future-focussed approaches to prevent and reduce mental-ill health, alcohol and other drugs harm and suicide.
“I thank everyone who took the time and effort to apply.”
Support services
Lifeline 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue 1300 224 636
Communicating safely
Language matters. Review the Mindframe guidelines for safe reporting about mental health, alcohol and other drugs, and suicide: https://mindframe.org.au/guidelines.
Media Contact:
Kate Southwell, Queensland Mental Health Commission 1300 855 945, 0409 275 385 or media@qmhc.qld.gov.au.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Grant recipients:
|
Organisation |
Initiative |
Location |
|
Bidgerdii Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Corporation Community Health Service |
Journey to Wellness - Mental health and wellbeing healing camps for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. |
Central QLD
|
|
Box Jelly Theatre Co. |
Enough – A theatre-in-education production targeting young people, focusing on anxiety. |
Cairns and Hinterland, Mackay, North West, Townsville |
|
Bundaberg & District Neighbourhood Centre |
Connections to Recovery – A partnership with the local emergency department to increase suicide prevention literacy among young people by connecting them to peer and community support. |
Wide Bay |
|
BlueCare
|
Development and pilot testing of a community relapse prevention program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in regional North Queensland. |
Cairns and Hinterland
|
|
Epilepsy Queensland |
Enhancing mental health and wellbeing outcomes for young people in Townsville living with epilepsy. |
Townsville |
|
Ethni |
Big Sis - Peer-Led psychosocial interventions for young women from culturally diverse backgrounds. |
Gold Coast, Metro North, Metro South |
|
GJK Solutions |
Community-Based Mental Health and Wellbeing Program for Indigenous mining workers. |
North West |
|
Hawthorn Football Club |
AFLW Northern Nest Resilience and Inclusion Program to support children, young people, First Nations communities, and young women. |
Far North Queensland |
|
Impact Community Services |
Discovery Coast Social Prescription Community Coach Initiative to enhance wellbeing literacy. |
Wide Bay |
|
Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC |
Kuku Balkal Kaykayanda (Giving Words to all the Children) - A Mossman youth creative intervention project led by digital creators and arts facilitators to foster connection and cultural pride while addressing challenges exacerbated by recent natural disasters. |
Central QLD
|
|
James Cook University |
The Bamboo Parenting Program to support mothers using the First 1,000 Days Framework to reduce the impact of maternal mental ill-health. |
Cairns and Hinterland, Mackay, Torres and Cape, Townsville |
|
Laidley Community Centre |
Generation Us aims to promote wellbeing, suicide prevention literacy, and help-seeking among local young people, leading to interpersonal and employment-related success. |
West Moreton
|
|
Murilla Community Centre |
Murilla Mums & Bubs Connect – Improving wellbeing outcomes for rural women and their babies during the first two years after giving birth. |
Darling Downs |
|
My Kind of Tribe T/A Motherhood and Matrescence |
Masterclass for Mums is an eight-week group program supporting women to navigate the changes and challenges of motherhood and matrescence, improving life satisfaction in the first 2,000 days of a child’s life. |
Mackay
|
|
Open Doors Youth Service |
60 psychosocial groups to support 100 LGBTQIA+SB young people to improve wellbeing through resilience-building, connection and belonging. |
Metro South and Metro North |
|
People Power Services |
Inkingi - A weekly psychosocial strengths-based program offering individual, group, and peer support to enhance awareness and stress management tailored to the needs of African migrants and refugees. |
Metro South |
|
Play Matters Australia |
Ageless Play – Weekly community-based intergenerational playgroups for seniors and children (0-5 years) to reduce social isolation and mental health challenges. |
Gold Coast, Metro South, Townsville |
|
Queensland Remote Aboriginal Media |
Our Strengths, Our Future, Our Community - Co-designing and broadcasting a locally relevant series of radio plays with young First Nations people in remote communities. |
Cairns and Hinterland, Torres and Cape |
|
selectability |
BikeShed to deliver group bike rides, bike repair workshops, and a peer-supported environment to increase wellbeing literacy and social connections. |
Mackay |
|
South West Indigenous Corporation |
The Sounds of Them Project - A lived-experience ‘mental health and wellbeing habitat’ delivering wellbeing literacy podcasts and building trainer capacity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid. |
South West
|
|
Testimony Arts |
Creative Industries, Social Enterprise, Repair and Restoration Initiative is a 16-week program supporting young males aged 15-18 who are disconnected from mainstream education and at risk of entering the youth justice system. |
Wide Bay |
|
Townsville Multicultural Support Group |
TMSG Eco- Enzyme and Gardening Hub for Wellbeing seeks to create connections through bilingual support and storytelling, prioritizing newly arrived refugees and vulnerable migrant women. |
Townsville |
Better Futures Grant recipients:
|
Organisation |
Initiative |
Location |
|
Griffith University |
Mosaic at Griffith - Development and evaluation of LGBTQIA+, First Nations, and culturally diverse education programs. |
South East Queensland |
|
Headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation |
Digital chat-based therapeutic support - Real-time outcomes tracking in digital chat-based therapeutic support at Headspace. |
State-wide |
|
Orygen |
MIND - Further development and implementation of a virtual reality mental health package for young people in Queensland youth mental health services. |
State-wide |
|
Primary and Community Care Services |
Wisecarer is a Hospital Admission Companion Program for Consumer and Carer Empowerment that will develop digital tools and integrated care strategies with carers and consumers to reduce reliance on emergency departments. |
State-wide |
|
Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership / Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth |
Resilience Framework and Tool workforce development pilot involves development of social and health workforce capabilities and trainer support for services and systems working with children, young people and families. |
South East Queensland |
|
The University of Queensland (Mater) |
Perinatal Family Mental Health Registry - Consolidation of healthcare use and cost data to identify unmet family-related mental health clinical and support needs for guideline development. |
State-wide |
|
The University of Queensland |
The Mindfulness App - Co-design, implementation, and evaluation of an application to improve healthcare and information access for perinatal women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. |
State-wide |
|
University of New South Wales |
The Big Reach - Co-creation of trauma-responsive virtual reality tools with and for communities. |
State-wide |
