Harriet Serafim has watched her 26-year-old son struggle with drug addiction for the past eight years.

She has recently managed to find him a place in a privately-run drug rehabilitation facility, after failing to access adequate treatment in the public system.

"There was no room, there were waiting lists, there were assessments — it was just like a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs and things that you had to do," she said.

But her son's one month stay in a rehab facility has cost her $11,000, and she had to dip into her superannuation savings to afford it.

Ms Serafim said the extra funding for rehabilitation beds in this week's budget was desperately needed.

"People like my son keep slipping through the cracks," she said.

Her son is recovering from an addiction to several drugs, including ice, Xanax, and anti-psycotic medication.

"It has been probably been one of the most difficult things that myself and my family have gone through," she said.

For now, Ms Serafim's son is improving, but when his time at the rehabilitation centre is up, she is still not sure where to go next.

"I can't have him back home, I've got two other children I need to protect, is there going to be a bed for him in a rehab facility?"

A boost for mental health measures

The Victorian Government will spend $705 million on mental health measures, which will include 89 new and existing acute inpatient hospital beds, as well as 90 drug rehabilitation beds in regional Victoria.

Six mental health crisis hubs will be created within the emergency departments of major hospitals at Monash, St Vincent's in Geelong, Sunshine, Frankston, and the Royal Melbourne, at a cost of $100.5 million.

In regional Victoria, an extra $40.6 million will be spent to build three new 30-bed residential treatment facilities in Gippsland, Hume, and Barwon.

There will also be a boost to the number of community-based treatment hours provided.

New mental health hubs will be set up in the emergency departments of hospitals around the state. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica )

The Victorian Government said it expected the funding boost would provide treatment for around 12,800 more Victorians.

Minister for Mental Health Martin Foley said that was an important investment.

"The acute crisis end is where the real immediate need is," he said.

"These dedicated short stay wraparound services that deal with alcohol and mental health issues are a really sound investment."

Monash Health's program director of mental health, Professor David Clarke, said the new hospital units would be designed so acute mental health patients were separated from general emergency cases.

"It's frenetic, as you can imagine — emergency departments were designed for acute care of accidents and strokes, and we're trying to deal with behaviourally disturbed patients who need to be calmed and need time," he said.

"You don't have calm time in emergency departments."

Support people early before it escalates, experts say

The sector's peak body, Mental Health Victoria, said the budget measures were much needed, but more money needed to be spent on early intervention and community care.

Mental Health Victoria chair Damian Ferrie said the new measures also come after more than a decade of underfunding.

Damian Ferrie says mental health services have not been funded properly for years. ( ABC News: Liz Hobday )

"This very much is at the crisis end of the continuum," he said.

"Mental Health Victoria would really like to see investment into the community end, that prevents people ending up in trouble."

He argued funding community-based treatment for the early stages of mental health issues was more cost effective, and prevented expensive and repeated hospital admissions.

"The funding for supporting people in the community is declining, and that's of grave concern, because it means people cycle back into the emergency departments of public hospitals," Mr Ferrie said.