The ACT Greens have made an election promise to expand a service designed to help people experiencing mental health distress in a non-clinical setting.
The party has promised to build an extra four Safe Haven hubs, which is an early intervention service designed to reach people before they hit a crisis point.
There is an existing Safe Haven in Belconnen and the government has started work on establishing a second one on the Canberra Hospital campus.
The Greens have also promised to expand the Police, Ambulance, Clinician Emergency Response program, known as PACER, which is a team that travels in an unmarked police car to respond to mental health incidents in the territory.
The Greens, who have held the ACT mental health portfolio for the past nearly eight years, say they want everyone to have access to affordable mental health care.
Mental Health Minister Emma Davidson said the party would focus on early intervention and prevention services.
"We are living in a cost of living and climate crisis. People are experiencing higher levels of distress than ever before, placing more pressure on our mental health system," she said.
"But mental health care is expensive and wait times can be lengthy.
"The sad reality is that too many people only access free care once they are in a crisis."
The party says they would open the four new Safe Havens in Tuggeranong, Molonglo, Dickson and Gungahlin.
At Safe Haven, people who need support for their mental health can seek help from peer support workers, who are mostly people who have also experienced mental health issues.
PACER has been permanently funded to have one team for several years. A second team has been receiving year-to-year funding but the government has recently provided funding for the second team for four years.
The Greens have also promised to established more eating disorder services in the ACT, including a day program for people who don't require residential care but require more support than early intervention services.
They have also promised to permanently fund the youth mental health WOKE program. This is focused on early intervention and uses dialectical behaviour therapy to treat young people aged 15 to 21 who experience self-harming behaviour, suicidal ideation and early signs of borderline personality disorder.
ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury says the party will create a network of support for Canberrans before they reach crisis and need to go to hospital.
"This means more people getting support earlier in their mental health journey and for those who really need it, the reassurance that they can get hospital care without having to wait," he said.
"Our commitment today builds upon this work and looks to grow our mental health system to support even more Canberrans. It will deliver life saving services for people with mental illness and expand our mental health system to be more robust and accessible."
