Individualised support
The Mental Health Commission is working to shift the balance of power to give people with mental illness, along with their families, carers and supporters greater control over their lives, including over the supports and services they access.
We have made a substantial investment in mental health by providing $25.18 million for the next 4 years for individualised support packages for people with a mental illness.
The support is available for 100 people who have a severe and persistent mental illness, and have been in specialist hospital inpatient facilities for an extended period.
The support packages are linked to the provision of 100 housing units for people with a mental illness and designed to help them make a successful transition from hospital into our community.
We expect the new arrangements to begin early in 2012 so we give sufficient time for the individual planning of care and support to be completed.
It is expected that twenty homes will be in regional Western Australia and the remaining 80 in Perth metropolitan and surrounding areas.
Rather than making hospitalisation the first option for people with a mental illness, our aim is to provide support in the local community that helps to promote recovery and social inclusion.
People with a mental illness will be less likely to need to access hospital inpatient facilities when there are more and better community services available.
Individualised support also means the person involved – as well as their support network – get more of a say in choosing services and resources that will aid their recovery. The Mental Health Commission's individualised support intiaitves will give people the opportunity to self-direct their supports and services. The video below explores the concept of self directed services and shows how it has made a difference to individuals and communities in Western Australia.
My Life, My Way from Myriad Images on Vimeo.
For more information on individualised support, robert.erskine@mentalhealth.wa.gov.au.