THE country's first support centre for mental health carers will reopen tomorrow after the State Government pledged to back the project for a year.

Queensland Mental Health Minister Curtis Pitt has announced one-off funding of $213,200 for the Cairns Mental Health Carers Support Hub after the Federal Government rejected a request for ongoing funds.

Hub founder Adrianne Hicks said the facility had been "running on nothing but the smell of an oily rag" since the Federal Government’s pilot trial ended last year, and the service was forced to close in January.

"I can’t tell you how delighted I am because this means we’ll be able to continue the work we’ve been doing, and keep growing the hub to cope with demand," Mrs Hicks said.

The number of people seeking help from the hub has tripled since it opened in October 2009, and Mrs Hicks insists the community’s need for the project will continue to grow.

She praised Mr Pitt for backing the program even before he was appointed to the newly-named mental health portfolio in a recent Cabinet reshuffle.

"If it hadn’t been for his persistence, and being backed very strongly by Warren Entsch, we just wouldn’t be able to get that funding," Mrs Hicks said.

Mrs Hicks, whose son suffers paranoid schizophrenia, said the program’s success hinged on staff’s "lived
experience".

"Caring for someone with a mental illness is a big stress and it doesn’t go away," she said.

"It’s not a great job, but families and loved ones have no other choice but to care for that person.

"And that’s what we’re here for, to care for the carers."

Mr Pitt said he was able to secure the one-off payment from State Government coffers in the aftermath of cyclone Yasi, when stress and anxiety in the community is high.

"People stress more when they’ve seen things like this, and we don’t want anyone regressing or being forced into punitive mental health care," Mr Pitt said.

"I’m happy to see this through from start to finish because it’s vital for our
region."

But he said ongoing funding for the hub should come from the Federal Government.

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said the program offered the Commonwealth value for money.

"If there weren’t early-intervention programs like this in place to help the families of mental illness sufferers, the cost to the Government would be in the tens of millions."

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