One of Western Australia’s leading community service agencies will provide increased support to individuals – particularly young people – with both drug and alcohol and mental health issues following the announcement of new Commonwealth Government funding today.

Mission Australia will receive $460,000 across two of its youth programs – Yirra and the Youth Withdrawal and Respite Service – which help young people in WA aged between 12-18, deal with substance abuse issues. The agency will share in $1,022,250 as part of a group of organisations offering support to families in the Perth metropolitan area.

Mission Australia’s WA State Director, Angie Paskevicius said the funding will go to better identifying and treating people struggling with these dual problems.

“The funding will make a significant difference in building on the services the organisation already provided.

“We welcome the announcement of this funding and it will help Mission Australia increase the effectiveness of its care to people dealing with both mental illness and drug/alcohol problems,” said Ms Paskevicius.

“The prevalence of people with a combination of both mental health and drug and alcohol problems in our community is such that this funding is vital in helping us deal with existing demand and making sure people – and in terms of our services, particularly young people – get the help they need.

“Primarily the money will go to help our staff and our programs work better and smarter – improving training, building links between our services and the broader health care network, implementing quality improvement processes.

“Our Yirra and Youth Withdrawal and Respite Services already do an incredible job in helping young Western Australians struggling with these issues – we aim to do an even better job thanks to this funding,” she said.

Media contact: John Cooke, PPR, 9388 0944 or 0433 679 780