Hon Matt Doocey
Minister for Mental Health

The Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey has announced round two of the Government’s Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund has opened today.

“The bottom line for this Government is to ensure we are delivering timely quality mental health and addiction support to those who are bravely reaching out for help in their greatest time of need,” Mr Doocey says.

“I am excited for community organisations across the country to have another opportunity to access funding. This time, there will be more smaller grassroots organisations that will be eligible to apply for funding due to the recently announced lowered matched funding limit required.

“It’s also my pleasure to announce that Tend Health Ltd is the ninth and final recipient from the fund’s first round to set up a new digital primary mental health and addiction service.

“The new service aims to make it easier for people to get primary mental health support, particularly those who are not enrolled in general practice or have difficulty accessing general practice.

“A multi-disciplinary mental health and addictions team will deliver support virtually and with extended operating hours, giving people more flexible access to help when they need it.

“Once fully operational, Tend’s new service is expected to deliver more than 15,000 sessions to more than 5,000 people, which is another significant step towards the Government’s commitment to strengthen people’s access to mental health and addiction support.

The initiative will receive $1.97 million of funding over two years from the Government which will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Tend to total just under $4 million.

“I am also proud that funding from round one has already enabled eight other organisations to start delivering new and expanded initiatives. They include MATES in Construction, the Mental Health Foundation, Youthline, Wellington City Mission, Rotorua Community Youth Centre Trust, the Sir John Kirwan Foundation, Women’s Refuge, and Just a Thought.

“By supporting these initiatives, we’re ensuring that people across New Zealand can access the support they need, while also working towards the Government’s goal of growing the clinical workforce and reducing wait times for mental health and addiction services.

“I encourage all eligible providers to take up the opportunity to apply for funding and scale-up their work to benefit the many people in the communities they serve,” Mr Doocey says.

Notes:

• The Request for Proposals for round two of the Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund has been released on the Government Electronic Tenders Site (GETS) here.
• The match funding requirement for round one required $250,000 per application, round two requires $100,000 per application.

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