Each year, 1 in 5 Australians experience mental ill health such as depression and anxiety often associated with alcohol and substance misuse. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in people identifying themselves as suffering from a mental health or addictive disorder.
St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and the Sisters of Charity have been delivering mental health and addiction care services to the community since 1868. Through our innovative digital, online and telephone managed addiction and mental health outreach programs, St Vincent’s services are no longer confined to Darlinghurst. We reach and support thousands of people across Australia, including refugees, Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander people, the youth and elderly, women and children, LGBTQI community, exprisoners and sex industry workers.
The Foundation is working closely with Professor Nadine Ezard and her team to provide funding to enable their vision for strategic and innovative development of services to meet the increased demand for these programs.
A major project underway is the establishment of Australia’s first Managed Alcohol Program (MAP) at Matthew Talbot Hostel, in partnership with St Vincent de Paul. We are grateful to Brian Boyd, Dominic Sullivan and Will Morgan from the PAYCE Foundation and James Boyd from Paynter Dixon for their visionary support for this ground-breaking initiative.
MAP will provide support through a 15 room residential service for individuals in Sydney who have exhausted all treatment options and are eligible. This group of individuals represents an extremely vulnerable cohort with complex needs.
We also sincerely thank Matthew Duncan, our MAPS Ambassador, leading the charge to create a Coalition of supporters to enable this important work. Thank you to the Duncan Family and the Curran Family, and other generous supporters of MAPS priority programs. Our goal is to raise $8 million over five years.
Please contact Jane McCallum – jane.mccallum@svha.org.au to find out how you can support our MAPS fundraising campaign.