Mental health advocates say Victorians being able to reach local support ‘a gamechanger’

Donna’s car is an essential tool to manage her mental health.

The mother, who lives on the fringe of Melbourne, has been navigating the mental health system for more than 25 years for herself, and more recently her son.

She spends hours driving to and from appointments for her family, due to the scarcity of services on the ground.

“Being willing to sacrifice almost an entire day to get support from another service is also incredibly time consuming and exhausting,” she said.

She now uses her experiences to support people like Lauren McGovern, who suffers from severe anxiety and depression as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).