Lifting the Lid so Youth Can Live.
New Zealand is a first world country with strong community and public service, and yet there are young people feeling as though they have no one. It can take up to 10 weeks for a youth at of suicide to be assessed, which is why there is a need to more urgent assistance.
Rotary are working with our colleges to provide financial assistance to help every student get immediate help.
Principals have been personally dipping into their own pockets to try and save lives, and until now there has been no funding or immediate support for them.
The Ministry of Health recognise that the current system is not working, and youth are not prioritized. Rotary’s solution is to facilitate financial support so that Principals and Counselors can make an immediate difference. Our aim is that every youth aged between 13 – 18 will have a support system that will prevent them from ending their lives.
“These days many, many families in Kapiti/Horowhenua are touched by suicide. Rotary has targeted specific help for college students and fill the gap before the "system" can kick in. We believe by providing colleges with the facility to access funds and focus on the health of the student immediately, is the best way for us to lend a hand.” -Steve Botica - President Waikanae Rotary
“I completely concur with the others - your commitment and passion to make a difference for young people is awesome. Well done on bringing something tangible to an area which is notoriously difficult to navigate through. I have talked locally about the fact that so many of the resources funded by government are focused on crisis intervention - in other words it is funding the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. What I love about this project is that it is more focused on prevention - helping kids with counselling before they get to the crisis stage. This is the bit I think is missing from the system (apart from school guidance counsellors etc) so to see this gap plugged is fantastic.” -Mark Robinson - Principal, Waiopehu College
“Today's teenagers are under significant pressures from many sources- especially from social media. The result is that mental health is a very serious concern for many of our teenagers. Resources to respond effectively to mental health needs are stretched beyond capacity therefore the support from Rotary is so vital and important- this support has the potential to quite literally save lives. Nga mihi - Grant Congdon - Principal, Horowhenua College
“Being a first world country does not marry up with absolutely sad statistics around our youth suicide in our region being the 5th highest in Aotearoa.
There is no doubt that mental health this complex issue.
But the thought of a Kura Tuarua students not having access to a counsellor that can make a difference is to me devastating. As everyone need someone.
Lifting the Lid on Youth Suicide project facilitated by Rotary is a starting point.
The initiative does not in any way duplicate current youth support policy for public or private providers between Kapiti and Horowhenua districts.
Together we have created a solution that provides a seamless support network that connects youth at risk of attempting suicide to recognized counsellors. The strength of the project comes from the community working together since November 2018. Together with Andy Fraser from Otaki college we have created a seamless process that enables youth to get immediate assistance.
Giving each kura tuarua the ability to make an instant decision to seek through Lifting the Lid on youth suicide project to support their students when others can’t.
The goal of the project is to one day not be needed in this capacity.” - Bruce Morgan – Lifting the Lid on Youth Suicide, Project Chairman.
