Griffith has been named a "big winner" in the mental health budget announced earlier this week - but the region's local member says more must be done.
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The NSW Government budget included a record $10.9 billion spend on mental health services, with Griffith and the Murrumbidgee Local Health District set to receive a suite of new programs and services.
These include a new family care centre in Griffith, eight response and recovery specialists across the MLHD, and a specialised "safeguard" child and adolescent mental health response team assisting young residents across the region.
NSW Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said the services were great news for the region.
"Griffith is a big winner from the NSW Government Budget," Mrs Taylor said.
"After the extraordinary events over the last two years, including unprecedented drought, floods, pandemic and now the mice plague, mental health funding is more important than ever - especially in our regions."
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Despite the commitments, Member for Murray Helen Dalton says the budget does not properly address the "desperate" need for mental health support in Griffith and regional areas.
"The Murrumbidgee suicide rate has increased 59 per cent since the Liberal National Government was elected in 2011," Mrs Dalton said.
"The NSW Government must fund incentives to encourage counsellors to move to and stay in regional towns."
"We have plenty of referral services in small towns but the problem is there is a lack of professionals to refer people to," she said.
"When you're in crisis, you want to talk face-to-face with a real person."
Earlier this month, Griffith resident Jessie Lewis, 21, sent a letter to Ms Taylor, calling for immediate improvements to how youth mental health is handled in the region.
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