Localised mental health support needed on road to COVID-19 recovery

Mayor of Liverpool Wendy Waller is calling on the NSW Government to double down its support for community and health services to combat the fallout of the mental health crisis sweeping the state, continuing to exacerbate as NSW enters another week of lockdown.

Mayor Waller placed the ongoing mental health crisis at the forefront of a recent online roundtable which discussed the impact of the NSW Government’s current public health orders on more than two million residents residing in Greater Sydney’s most impacted Local Government Areas.

Chaired by LGNSW President Linda Scott, the roundtable involved the mayors of the 12 Local Government Areas of concern and the Ministers for Local Government, for Health, for Western Sydney, the NSW Chief Health Officer among others.

Mayor Waller urged that strengthening support for mental health services should take centre stage in Government financial repair and recovery packages now and into the post-COVID-19 arena.

“Speaking with residents, businesses and colleagues, I think everyone is feeling an overwhelming sense of loss,” Mayor Waller said. “We have lost loved ones, businesses and jobs, precious time spent with our family and friends and our freedom to this virus.

“In light of this, it is very difficult for me to fathom why individuals who are knowingly COVID-19 positive continually flout public health advice and don’t remain home. This abhorrent behaviour is potentially lengthening lockdown measures even further.

“Reopening our homes, workplaces, businesses and borders is only one step in the journey to recovery. Sadly, the devastating legacy of COVID-19 will certainly be a long-lasting one.”

Mayor Waller’s comments follow recent news that ten mental health pop-up clinics will be rolled out across Greater Sydney including Liverpool. As a former professional counsellor, Mayor Waller welcomed the Government acting on mental health, however said this solution barely scratches the surface.

“South West and Western Sydney are facing one of the longest roads to recovery having been subjected to some of the toughest COVID-19 restrictions in the state. Not all areas have had the same lockdown experience, therefore support for mental health needs to be tailored to a local level.”

Mayor Waller expressed her desire to directly raise this issue with the NSW Premier, following Ms Berejiklian’s recent decline to meet with the mayors of the 12 Local Government Areas of concern.

“As the grassroots tier of government, we are best positioned to relay our community's concerns to the highest levels of government. However, we feel at the local level people have now been left without a voice,” Mayor Waller said.