Another Gippsland mental health service folds

A GENERAL meeting of members of Gippsland mental health advocacy, Barrier Breakers, recently voted to place the non-for-profit agency into liquidation. 

According to a statement, the association’s Board had recommended this drastic course of action as the agency was considered insolvent, as it could not meet its creditor’s demands.

Barrier Breakers has provided free advocacy services to people with a mental illness in Gippsland since its formation in 2006. 

Founder and long serving director, Derek Amos, said he was deeply saddened by the decision, but accepted the association had no choice but to close its doors.

“The association had pleaded with governments for funding over the years, but little support had been provided,” he said. 

“It is a tragedy that two of the region’s major mental health NFP agencies have been allowed to wind-up their services within the same week.”

The other agency, Within Australia, went into voluntary liquidation last week.

The office of ‘Within Australia’ provided outreach services across a wide area of Bass Coast and South Gippsland, from Cowes to Toora, and also in-office programs at 85 Watt Street, Wonthaggi.
Typically, these services included one-on-one support for those with mental health needs, as well as social and activity programs, including such things as a photography course.

Up to 50 local clients, more than half of them living in the South Gippsland Shire, were displaced by the shutdown, caused not only by the loss of a key contract with the Gippsland Primary Health Network (PHN), but also as a result of a fragmentation with NDIS services.

As previously reported in the Sentinel-Times, this left 60 staff redundant at offices in Bairnsdale, Sale, Traralgon and Wonthaggi and more than 400 clients with mental illness and disability to find another provider.

Mr Amos said that the (Barrier Breakers) Association’s Board had taken steps to transfer its clients to another agency in order to protect their consumers interests.

“The last thing a person, suffering from depression, needs to know is that their needs are no longer being looked after,” he said. 

“We have gone to great lengths to ensure that their interests are protected and that every possible endeavour will be made to gain a favourable decision for them.

“Our deep concern is for our long-term creditors, who have stood by us over the years.”

Mr Amos said that the region’s loss of now two pioneering mental health agencies will deal a serious blow to many families in Gippsland.

“Perhaps we should be excused into thinking that the relatively recent Royal Commission into Victoria’s mental health system was going to improve people’s access to good mental health outcomes,” he said. 

“We believe Barrier Breakers made a valuable submission to the Commission and we thought the state government’s response to its findings by accepting all the recommendations was very heartening.

“However, it leaves us with a sour taste in our mouths for the region to be now be faced with the complete loss of two advocacy agencies, who had a tremendous record of providing help to many thousands of Gippslanders.”