Orygen
Colonial Foundation provided seed funding in 2001 to establish Orygen, a collaborative partnership between Colonial Foundation, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, acting in concert as members/owners of the organisation. Orygen was established with a purpose of striving for all young people to enjoy optimal mental health as they grow into adulthood. It is now considered a world leader in youth mental health research, knowledge translation and clinical care.
The Foundation has provided funding of $66 million over more than twenty years in support of Orygen. With mental ill-health increasingly being the leading cause of disability and death among Australians aged 15-25, the Foundation’s support has enabled a profound positive impact on mental health services for young people across Australia.
Our funding has enabled increased awareness and advocating for more and better funding to support youth affected by poor mental health. Orygen has leveraged the Foundation’s funding to generate over a billion dollars of Australian Government support for the youth mental health sector.
With the organisation now well established and the Foundation having achieved its desired impact of vastly improving the understanding, treatment and prevention of youth mental ill-health, the Foundation has closed its funding program.
