A gala cocktail event to raise awareness and funds for a transformational mental health service for young
adults was recently held with a sold-out crowd of 150 people in attendance. The community came
together at Bar Pacino in Brisbane’s riverside precinct during Queensland Mental Health Week to show
their support, with over $40,000 raised to help kick-start the much needed transformational mental health
service.
Supporters came from a diverse range of backgrounds – from professionals and business owners to mental
health workers, families and young people who have a lived experience of mental health challenges. “We
were blown away with the support we received” said MindFx co-founder Jane McDonald. “So many people
came and spoke to me on the night and afterwards – explaining how they related to our cause because
they have been through it first-hand with their own family members and loved ones.”
MindFx ’s mission is to empower young adults (18-27 years old) with a lived experience of mental illness
and drug missuse to live full and productive lives in the community, focusing on the gaps that currently
exist in the hospital-home cycle that sees many young people falling through the cracks after discharge
from hospital after an acute mental health episode.
“We are raising funds for our first MindFx centre in Brisbane, where we will offer young people a holistic,
wraparound service using a health coaching model to build resilience, recovery and meaningful connections
to the local community and a job in social enterprise” said MindFx co-founder Dr Frances Hughes – a
Fulbright scholar and internationally respected community mental health specialist.
The experienced MindFx team aim to continue raising funds to open their first Centre in Brisbane, then
replicate it across the country. An initial $250,000 is all that is needed to begin the pilot progam “There is
just so much demand for this type of service” said Dr Hughes. “Rates of young adult mental health, selfharm
and suicide are continuing to increase while the access to services for this group of clients is the worst
of any age group. Our service is aimed at filling the gaps in the current system.”
MindFx is seeking corporate and business partners and philanthropic donors. “There are no alternatives,
the community must lead the way in establishing better recovery pathways for our young adults with
challenging mental illness” commented Jane McDonald. “If every one of us who has been impacted or
touched in some way by the challenges of young adult mental health makes even a small contribution, we
will achieve our vision of specialist centres across the country.” People interested in supporting MindFx can
make a tax-deductible donation or reach out to discuss a partnership through the MindFx website.
For interviews or media enquiries please contact:
Dr Frances Hughes
Board Chair and Co-Founder
M: +61 478 830 189
E: admin@mindfx.com.au
W: www.mindfx.com.au
Also on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
Dr Jeffery Smith
Secretary, Director and Co-founder
MindFx Limited
Exciting initiative. Looking forward to collaborating to help young people in our community to find hope healing and restoration.