• Southland’s two refuges will benefit from funding for mental health and addiction training
• 250 advocates across the country will be upskilled through specialist clinical support and training
• Funding aims to improve local service access and ease mental health referral challenges
Southland Women’s Refuges in Invercargill and Gore will benefit from new Government support.
The funding will provide advocates with mental health and addiction training, and advisory support from clinical specialists, so that local clients can access services more efficiently.
The Women’s Refuge will distribute the $540,000 in Government funding, over two years, across its 41 refuges nationally.
The Te Whare Hou Invercargill Womens Refuge and the Gore & Clutha Whānau Refuge do incredibly important work in our community, supporting women and children in this province and offering a safe space for those experiencing family violence.
They also offer practical, emotional support, referrals and emergency accommodation and education.
This funding will help those staff at local refuges to provide even more support to help deliver improved mental health and addiction support to those in need.
The feedback we often hear about mental health services is that it is too hard to navigate and understand where to go in a time of need.
This funding will enable Women’s Refuge to upskill its staff on mental health and addiction, as well as improving connections with local services and strengthening referral pathways, so clients can access local mental health and addiction services more efficiently.
A total of 250 advocates, based within the 41 Women’s Refuges across New Zealand, will receive mental health and addiction training and advisory support from clinical specialists.
The funding comes from the Government’s Mental Health and Addiction Innovation Fund and I’m pleased to see it coming South.
It will strengthen the workforce and improve referral pathways for those women and children who access Women’s Refuge services.
Nationally, in the past five years, Women’s Refuge has supported an average of 15,000 clients per year.
Invercargill MP
Penny Simmonds.
Funded by Parliamentary Services, published by arrangement.