16 June 2010

The NSW Government today announced $50,000 to support a new project aiming to increase the understanding of mental illness in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) community.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Carmel Tebbutt said the grant presented to ACON - formally the AIDS Council of NSW - would help fund early planning and scoping works for the
‘Peace of Mind’ project.

The project aims to examine how better to respond to the mental health needs of the GLBT community.

“ACON performs vital work providing counselling, therapy and support services to the GLBTcommunity,” Ms Tebbutt said.

“Research has found that the GLBT community reports higher levels of depression and other mental health problems, and the ‘Peace of Mind’ project aims to better cater to and address
those needs.

“ ‘Peace of Mind’ will focus on improving understanding of GLBT issues among service providers and also improve access and effective treatment opportunities for GLBT people with mental health problems.

“This initial funding will support ACON to work with stakeholders to develop the project.”

In welcoming this Grant, Mark Orr, President of ACON said: "ACON has been responding to mental health issues for people with HIV, or at risk of HIV, for 25 years. Support from the NSW Government through the HIV program for these services has been invaluable.

"However, there is mounting evidence that our community is disproportionately impacted by mental health problems.

“For instance, the Longitudinal Study of the Health of Australian Women showed that 38% of same-sex attracted females aged 22-27 had experienced depression compared to 19% of heterosexual female respondents.

"Rates of suicide and suicidal ideation for GLBT people are also much higher - up to 14 times higher than heterosexual people", he said.

Mr Orr concluded: "We want to thank the NSW Government for this funding. The NSW GLBT community will benefit from learning more about mental health problems, how they present, and clarification of the treatment options available as a result of the 'Peace of Mind' initiative and the support for it from the NSW Government.”

ACON operates across NSW and is Australia’s largest community based GLBT and HIV/AIDS organisation.