The health ministry is adding further subsidies to cover 16,000 more people after seeing the outstanding success of its mental health support program launched last month.
Health Ministry Mental Health Department Director Chen Liang-yu (陳亮妤) stated that another NT$78 million (US$2.4 million) in funding will be added to the original subsidy amount. This will bring the cumulative investment this year to more than NT$170 million (US$5.3 million) which will cover 67,000 people.
The program provides free psychological consultations to people aged 15-30 years. According to the health ministry, the ratio of male to female users is roughly 1:2.8, with 70% of participants being 24 to 30 years old. 30% of all people in the program were assessed as high-risk, showing that it is useful for intervening with and assisting mental health crises.
The free mental health support program will run until the end of July 2024. Chen states that data will be collected and analyzed so that a more detailed plan for comprehensive care can be drawn up in the future.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please seek assistance immediately. For the government helpline, please dial 1995.