$11m for Youth Living With A Complex Mental Illness

A successful mental health program that supports young people living with severe and complex mental illnesses will receive an extra $11 million from the NSW Government.
Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said the Youth Community Living Supports Services (YCLSS) program will be funded for another five years to give more 16-24 year-olds a sense of confidence and independence.
“This program provides comprehensive wrap-around care to young people living with complex mental illness and aims to reduce their future risk of chronic disability, frequent hospital stays or long-term care,” Mrs Taylor said.
“It’s an impressive collaboration between our local health districts, which provide clinical care, and NGO partners, which provide practical and social support.”
Many of the young people supported by YCLSS have been diagnosed with a complex mental illness, as well as dealing with homelessness or drug or alcohol addictions, and limited education and work opportunities.
“We want more young people to be excited and hopeful for their future,” Mrs Taylor said.
“This program provides much-needed daily life support to its participants, such as helping them to access other support services, follow their clinical treatment plan, find work or study opportunities, access safe housing, and develop a healthy daily routine.”
In the three years to June 2019, YCLSS provided 110,000 hours of support to 360 young people, with significant number of these (15 per cent) of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background.
On average, each young person received 306 hours of direct support and many of these reported a boost in self-confidence and self-efficacy.
Wellways Australia has been engaged to deliver the program in the Hunter New England, Nepean Blue Mountains, Northern NSW, South Western Sydney and Western Sydney Local Health Districts to 2024.
Since 2015, YCLSS has been allocated almost $25 million by NSW Government. It forms part of the NSW Government response to Living Well: A Strategic Plan for Mental Health in NSW 2014-2024.