Eating Disorders Victoria (EDV) is thrilled to be the recipient of a $250,000 funding boost as part of the Victorian government’s $60 million package for increased mental health support. The funding was announced over the Easter weekend in recognition of the stress, isolation and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

EDV CEO Belinda Caldwell said that the extra funding for EDV is an important recognition of the unique stressors that people with eating disorders are currently experiencing.

“We know from our community that both people with eating disorders as well as their carers and families are really struggling at the moment.

Eating disorders thrive in isolation. The disruption to regular face-to-face services and connections to support people leaves people particularly vulnerable. The recent supermarket food shortages have also contributed to distress. Add to this the fact that a portion of our community are immune compromised due to nutritional deficiencies and therefore need to physically distance themselves from the world as much as possible.”

Belinda said that she is working with her team to formulate a range of new web and phone based initiatives to provide extra support to people affected by eating disorders in Victoria.

“There is no doubt that the current situation will cause ongoing mental and physical repercussions in our community. However this funding from the Andrew’s government will help us to mitigate some of the damaging effects of this period of isolation and keep more people connected, safe and moving towards full recovery.”

EDV will begin rolling out new web and phone initiatives from May 2020.