E-Petition

Queensland residents draws to the attention of the House that for nine years Mental Health Association (Gold Coast
Branch) has received funding from Queensland Health (independently from our Brisbane branch) to fund a range of
services including an information and referral service via telephone, email and walk-ins, hosting support groups that meet
at the branch which include Anxiety, Bi-polar, Depression, Eating Disorders, GROW, Dissociative Identity Disorder,
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Also provided are bimonthly guest speakers available to
other service providers, consumers, carers and general public. For some reason Queensland Health has included the
Gold Coast application with the Brisbane branch application, which has resulted in the Gold Coast branch not being
allocated any of their requested funding. The Gold Coast is the fastest growing city in Australia and continual growth of
activity of the service of over 400% in the last seven years supports the need for continuation of our service. It is
anticipated that through lack of funding this year, the impact of the resultant closure of the Gold Coast Branch on 30
September 2004 will severely affect consumers, carers and general users of the service.

Your petitioners therefore request the House to request the Government to take all steps possible to provide funding to
allow this valuable service to continue.

Save Mental Health Association (Gold Coast
Branch): requesting the House to provide
funding to allow this valuable service to
continue