Secured $3.1 million for the establishment of the Rockhampton Mental Wellbeing Safe Haven.

selectability is one of regional Queensland's largest providers of mental health and suicide prevention services, supporting individuals and communities across northern, central and western Queensland for more than 40 years. As North Queensland's leading NDIS provider for mental health services, selectability employs over 800 staff and supports more than 1,500 consumers.

Rockhampton and its surrounding resource communities faced significant gaps in accessible mental health and social support services. With the region's suicide rate increasing from 15.1% to 18.8% per 100,000 between 2009 and 2016, and 39.1% of the population in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic quintile, there was an urgent need for dedicated mental health infrastructure and services.

selectability identified an opportunity through the Resources Community Infrastructure Fund to establish a Mental Wellbeing Safe Haven in Rockhampton. The challenge was to develop a comprehensive funding application that would effectively demonstrate the project's alignment with the fund's objectives and its potential impact on the community.

Enablen worked closely with selectability to develop a detailed funding submission that showcased both the critical need for mental health services and the organisation's capability to deliver them. Our approach included:

• Conducting thorough community consultation through surveys and interviews, gathering quantitative and qualitative evidence of service gaps and community support;
• Demonstrating the project's alignment with the fund's objectives of enhancing community safety and reducing social inequality;
• Establishing clear links between the resource sector's presence and the community's infrastructure needs

The funding application was successful, securing $3.1 million for the establishment of the Rockhampton Mental Wellbeing Safe Haven. This purpose-built facility will provide vital mental health and suicide prevention services, including community mental health programs, NDIS supports, suicide prevention services, carer support and vocational training opportunities.
The project will create both immediate construction jobs and ongoing employment opportunities. More importantly, it will provide essential mental health infrastructure for a community where 88% of survey respondents indicated existing mental health supports were inadequate.

Our ability to align client objectives with funding criteria, while clearly articulating community need and project benefits, helped secure this significant investment in regional Queensland's mental health infrastructure.