- Hon Matt Doocey
Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey says people in hard-to-reach and remote communities stand to benefit from an expanded offering of online support following the latest Mental Health and Addiction Innovation Fund announcement.
"Today I'm delighted to announce that matched funding has been awarded to digital provider Just a Thought to expand and enhance their online courses to support people facing mental health and addiction challenges," Mr Doocey says.
"Just a Thought offer 17 digitally delivered, evidence-based therapy courses and have supported over 75,000 New Zealanders since they launched in 2019. These online courses offer free and quick access to anyone seeking mental health and addiction support, providing an additional support option alongside face-to-face services.
"Hard-to-reach and remote communities can face barriers accessing the help they need and have unmet need. Initiatives like this are exactly what the Innovation Fund was designed to support, and I look forward to seeing this service scale-up and reach more Kiwis in their time of need."
The funding will allow Just a Thought to develop new wellbeing courses helping with things like manage stress, wellbeing and promoting mindfulness. The courses are free and available to anyone. While round one of the fund has almost wrapped up, round two with a Request for Proposal is scheduled to be released soon.
"For round two applications, we've lowered the minimum matched investment from $250,000 to $100,000 to open access to a wider range of providers. This is another example of the Government's commitment to exploring new ways to fund and grow mental health support, including through coinvestment," Mr Doocey says.
"As Minister for Mental Health, I am focused on increasing access to mental health and addiction support. The Innovation Fund is one of the ways we are partnering with Non-Government Organisations to deliver innovative projects and initiatives that bring faster access to better mental health and addiction support for communities right across the country."
