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Homebuilders must stay
Where is our local Minister Chris Penk when you need him – busy trying to fix Penlink? The decision to cut government funding to local mental health support provider Homebuilders needs to be reviewed (MM Aug 19).
We used Homebuilders when, at our wit’s end, we were totally stressed out with mental health issues, and they were awesome. Moreover, the experience opened my eyes to the huge number of people in our community who need the sort of support that Homebuilders provides.
Mr Penk, this is your electorate. I didn’t vote for this government given the philosophy it has, but I suspect you personally have a decent character and legally-trained brain that sees the outright senselessness of this funding cut.
Mr Doocey, Minister for Mental Health, you have been conspicuously silent as mental health services are decimated by the austerity programme Nicola Willis is leading. How are you advocating for your mental health providers? I can’t recall a single media interview with you in the past six months. Perhaps you could get some positive PR by reviewing this cut and reversing it.
Homebuilders Family Services is a small, grassroots, local frontline provider to which this government is cutting funding. There is no fat to trim and minimal back room costs. These are the counsellors at the top of the cliff doing a great job preventing mental health issues spiralling into bigger, costlier and deadlier issues.
Basically, they run on the smell of an oily rag, operate out of a small, old converted bungalow in Warkworth and provide free counselling services. There are no other local providers that I know of, you have to drive to Marinoto in Orewa and then only if you have a referral and can get an appointment because they’re understaffed.
Homebuilders is non-referral, local and appointments are usually available at short notice – I bet their funding has excellent return on investment, because their work is so preventative and keeps people out of the mainstream health system.
I cannot see the sense in cutting their government funding, which is 70 per cent of their total budget.
They will probably close, the counsellors will take this opportunity to retire or relocate, their expertise will be lost to the Warkworth area and it’ll be incredibly difficult to reanimate a service like this. Just keep it open, review their funding forensically if you have to, but don’t cut them off at the knees.
Neil McGarvey, Sandspit
