Fellowship House secures ongoing funding from WA Mental Health Commission, ensuring service safe for future

A “safe” and “unique” community hub that provides a space for mental health support has received vital ongoing funding, ensuring its doors will be kept open for the foreseeable future. Richmond Wellbeing has confirmed it was successful in securing rollover State government funding for Fellowship House in August, a positive conclusion to years of uncertainty and temporary contracts. Richmond Wellbeing chief executive Adrian Munro expressed his “sincere thanks and gratitude” to the Albany community who demonstrated their support for the service, saying they “couldn’t have secured the funding” from the WA Mental Health Commission without them. “This means the hub that has been a place for mental health recovery in Albany for so long will continue to be a beacon of light in the community,” he said. “This highlights how special this service is to the people of Albany and Richmond Wellbeing looks forward to serving the community through this service for years to come.” The mental health service, which has operated since 1981 and out of its Stead Road premises since 2006, supports more than 80 people a year through family and domestic violence, depression, schizophrenia, and drug and alcohol addiction. Its support for those suffering from addiction is particularly vital in the Great Southern, which remains the only region in WA without a residential rehabilitation facility. The program first fell into trouble in early 2023, when its WA Mental Health Commission funding was withdrawn after an unsuccessful tender application to expand its services. After an outcry and groundswell of community support, Richmond Wellbeing self-funded the service from its reserves, operating the service at a loss for another 12 months while it tried to secure exclusive funding for Fellowship House. After a year of lobbying to the WAMHC, the funding was secured in August, with Mr Munro saying he “didn’t have any concerns” regarding its ongoing nature. Acting service manager Katie Roberts said she welcomed the news the service was safe with “relief”, saying the prospect of Fellowship House closing was “daunting”. “As staff, we were worried about, well, what do our members do now, where do they go from here, what are they going to do with their days if they can’t come here?” she said. “Then also worrying about ourselves, what are we going to do? “I’ve been here for 11 years, and it’s been the most rewarding time of my life. “It’s just such a safe, unique space and a really important community in itself.” Member of 20 years Debbie Meyer said she has loved being a part of the Fellowship House community, and wouldn’t know where else to go if it had closed. “It’s been a very good experience to come here and still keep coming here and enjoying art and everyone’s company, and there are just so many different types of art and people’s different stories too,” she said. “Even while that was all hanging in the air and the balance, I still wanted to come here.” Other agencies including AHA and Fly 2 Health will now also operate their services out of the building.