Category Archives: Young People And Youth Issues

Invisible Voices: The experience of young carers living with a parent who experiences mental illness.

April 18, 2014 1:23 am ⋅ admin

ARE YOU 16, 17 OR 18 YEARS OLD?

Have you had experience of caring for a parent with mental illness?
Have you had experience of caring for a sibling or siblings due to a parent’s experience of mental illness?
Would you be able to volunteer around one and a half hours of your time to take part in an individual interview, to talk about your experiences?
Interviews can take place locally in an environment suitable to you. Your confidentiality and that of your family will be respected at every stage of this study.

“My name is Karen Merrett. I am a Masters of Social Work student at Auckland University, currently undertaking my thesis. I’d like to hear the stories of young carers of parents who experience mental illness, with the aim of improving services to young carers and their families. Please contact me directly on 027 471 7394. If you leave your details, I’ll contact you to talk about the study.”

APPROVED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND HUMAN PARTICIPANTS ETHICS COMMITTEE ON 19/11/2013 for (3) years Ref No. 010682

Posted in: Families/Whanau, Research, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: Invisible Voices, Karen Merrett, parent who experiences mental illness, thesis, University of Auckland, young carers

Feed the Kids Bill Aims for Government-Funded Food-in-Schools Programme

March 27, 2014 5:40 pm ⋅ admin

The following is a press release from Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau

Wednesday 12 March 2014

“Kids have a knack of saying things plain and simple” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and Tai Tokerau MP, following the lunch he hosted at Parliament today for 50 students from Naenae College who help run the school’s KickStart breakfast club.

“When asked why they support MANA’s Feed the Kids Bill they said they hate seeing kids having to scab food off other kids, and they’re embarrassed to have to hide their own lunches from their class mates.”

“And then they asked “Why can’t John Key make a smart decision and just Feed the Kids?”

“I was glad I was able to personally acknowledge the Naenae College seniors for fronting their breakfast club” said Harawira, “but the school’s guidance counsellor tells me it’s a real struggle organising volunteers, raising funds, and getting businesses to sponsor the extra kai.”

In question time today, which the College students observed, Mr Harawira pointed out that the government-assisted KickStart and KidsCan programmes feed about 20,000 students a day “which means that 80,000 are still going hungry … every day.”

“Even the kids are telling us that more needs to be done” said Harawira, “but government just point-blank refuses to step in.”

“In fact, Bill English thinks that hungry kids can learn just fine!”

“Honestly, it’s bloody frustrating when those who lead the country can be so dumb.”

MANA’s Feed the Kids Bill, which aims to introduce government-funded breakfast and lunch programmes for all students in decile 1-2 schools, is expected to be up for first reading in the coming months.

For further information from MANA, please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646.

Posted in: Parents and Parenting, Physical Health, Politics and Policy, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: feed the kids, Hone Harawira, mana party, Press Release

Everyone’s Been Bullied. Not Everyone Responds Like This 15-Year-Old Girl.

March 27, 2014 5:17 pm ⋅ admin

Having experienced bullying a lot herself, as well as seeing how it affects other young people, Nakita wanted to do something to make a difference. Nakita is an incredible singer (as you can see here) and so at 13 decided to write a song. However, this songwriting process was different than most. Nakita went into six schools and interviewed 180 young people of all ages about their experiences of bullying. Then, with mentorship from the band Dukes, she collated these experiences into a song.

The result can be found here: http://onevoice.net.nz/#sthash.PJd6EjhC.cjBo9j7i.dpbs

or here: Nakita Turner – One Voice

Posted in: Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: Bullying, Dukes, Nakita Turner, One Voice, song

Video Competition & Teaching Resource

February 17, 2014 12:55 pm ⋅ admin

Panui for Media Studies Teachers

The Mental Health Foundation is running a video competition for teenagers.

This is open to all students, but could be the product of a formative exercise for media production standards 2.6 and 3.6, for which a teaching unit plan is provided.

They are looking for a 30 second youth-friendly YouTube video that encourages youth to stop and pause when they hear words like “nutjob”, “slut”, “schizo”, “mental”, and “homo”, and reflect on language that is stigmatising or discriminatory (especially in relation to mental illnesses).

The objectives are:

to provide students with a useful insight into health marketing
to get students to help curtail bullying and to participate in mental health promotion
to generate a high-quality, resource we can use in a viral marketing campaign
it will be youth friendly and accessible
it will help to change people’s attitudes,
it well provide tools and skills to challenge inappropriate and demeaning language

What the brief will be for the video:

Work produced by youths has the potential to attract real interest from their peers.

Timeline:

Friday, 4^th of April Thehe unit plan will be sent to interested teachers

Friday, 20^th of June Entries close

Thursday, 17^th of July Awards ceremony

What the students will gain:

This will offer a meaningful learning opportunity based on the opportunity to produce a ‘real world’ product which will be used in a media campaign.

Research has indicated that teenagers care about the discriminatory language that they and their peers use, and would appreciate the opportunity to make clear statements about what is appropriate and what is not.

There will be prizes, and an award ceremony.

Perhaps more significantly, the winning students will achieve internet fame through a viral marketing campaign based on the winning videos; this will involve promotion through social media platforms and celebrity endorsements.

Teaching Resource.

This programme offers a high-quality teaching and summative assessment unit, including a lesson plans and assessment criteria, for media studies achievement standards 2.6 and 3.6 (media production), giving students practice in the skill of video production. This resource will be ready for the beginning of term 2.

If you are interested, please contact ivan@mentalhealth.org.nz, or on 027 2808972.

Posted in: Documentary, Service-User Movement, Social Change, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: media production, Mental Health Foundation, teaching resource, teenagers, video competition, viral marketing

Mike King’s Korero Heads to Taupo and Reporoa | 20-21 February 2014

February 17, 2014 12:34 pm ⋅ admin

Community Korero

This is a not-to-be-missed chance for communities to come together and explore how to support our youth and each other to survive and thrive. In the Community Korero, comedian Mike King gets straight up about his battle with depression, addiction and his ongoing journey back to recovery, including the mistakes he made along the way. Hear about the things he learnt from the hard times and how all those mistakes were blessings in disguise. Ask the questions you have always wanted to ask – Mike is joined by Tai Tupou for a Q & A session at the end of the talk. Connect with other community members who care. Plus heaps of useful resources to take away for later. Community Korero is open to all members of the community and is suitable for early teens to older adults. Mental-health workers, teachers, parents and town-planners are especially encouraged to attend this session.

Community Korero Dates

Thur 20 Feb 2014 | Venue: Taupo Nui a Tia College Hall, Taupo | Time: 7.00 pm
Fri 21 Feb 2014 | Venue: Reporoa Community Hall, Reporoa | Time 10.00 am – 12.00 pm
Fri 21 Feb 2014 | Venue: Te Toke Road Marae, Taupo | Time: 7.00 pm – 8.30 pm

Cool to Korero: School Sessions

Students get to spend some quality time with Kiwi comedian Mike King as he talks about how he survived growing up. Mike’s is the story of a kid who wanted to fit in. It is about wanting to be part of the cool group but being 4’11 with buck teeth and big ears and needing a miracle to make it happen. Then one day he discovered he had a gift to make people laugh and he went from being bullied, to being liked and then many years later becoming a bully himself. Mike shares tips on how to deal with bullies and also why bullies do what they do. Most of all, he speaks about why it is important to talk rather than have conversations with yourself. Tai Tupou joins Mike for a Q&A session that gives students a chance to ask whatever they want of Mike and Tai. And anyone who needs support straight away will have the opportunity for some one-on-one time at the end. The main point is this… in life there will always be hurdles and heartbreak, but with perseverance, support and an attitude of hope, great things WILL happen.

Cool to Korero Dates

20 February 2014
- Venue: Taupo Nui a Tia College, Taupo
- Time: 9 am
20 February 2014
- Venue: Tauhara College, Taupo
- Time: 1 pm
21 February 2014
- Venue: Reporoa College, Reporoa

Posted in: Families/Whanau, Parents and Parenting, Social Change, Suicide Prevention/Support, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: Community Korero, Cool to Korero, Key to Life Charitable Trust, Mike King, reporoa, Suicide, Tai Tupou, tauhara, Taupo, taupo nui a tia

Updated Online Resources Pack Now Available

December 1, 2013 1:48 pm ⋅ admin

The Online Resources Pack was given an overhaul last week and the latest update is now available on the Info Packs page of the Engage Aotearoa website.

Direct link: www.engagenz.co.nz/?page_id=116

What is the Online Resources Pack?

The Online Resources Pack is an information pack, full of links to web-based resources for mental-health recovery. This includes resources for distraction and entertainment as well as mental-health resources. Roughly 50% of websites sharing information about mental health are funded by pharmaceutical companies and present a bio-medical view of mental health. The Online Resources Pack brings together independent forms of web-based information that share psycho-social and/or lived experience perspectives and tools. The Online Resources Pack is updated on a regular basis. The team tries to check content prior to inclusion, but it is impossible to check every part of every website. If you find something stigmatising in one of the links included in the Online Resources Pack, please get in touch. To contribute content or suggest an edit to the Online Resources Pack, email EngageAotearoa@gmail.com

What’s New in the 29 November ’13 Update?

Content is now divided into sub-sections so it is easier to find what you are looking for.
- Distraction/Entertainment/Inspiration
- Information and Reading
- Online Self-Help
- Online Support Groups and Networks
- Recovery Stories
Two new pages of links to explore, including new…
- CBT resources
- DBT resources
- ACT resources
- Recovery blogs by people with Bipolar Disorder
- Recovery blogs by people with Borderline Personality Disorder
- Suicide prevention information
- International service-user initiatives
- and more…

The Online Resources Pack is designed to be shared

Print a copy and leave it in a public place or give it to someone you know
Email the link to your networks
Share it on Facebook
Share it on your website

How to Share the Online Resources Pack on your Website

Use the URL below to link to the Online Resources Pack from your own website. < http://www.engagenz.co.nz/?page_id=116 >

Using this URL ensures your link will never go out of date. It also allows Engage Aotearoa to track wider community use of the resource and ensures appropriate acknowledgements for the resource.

Posted in: Community Participation, Engage Updates, Entertainment and Creativity, Families/Whanau, Older People and Aging, Online Resources, Parents and Parenting, Personal Development Tools, Recovery Stories, Service-User Movement, Suicide Prevention/Support, Support, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: Engage Aotearoa, Lived Experience Perspectives, Online ACT tools, Online CBT Tools, Online DBT tools, Online Resources Pack, Personal Perspectives, Psycho-Social Perspectives, Psychology tools, Recovery Stories, Self-Help Worksheets

Butterfly Diaries Launched: Order Online

October 20, 2013 11:00 pm ⋅ admin

The Butterfly Diaries Volume 1 was launched on the 13th of October at Fiesta in the Park – a free book of four true stories of recovery from the experience of being suicidal.

Engage Aotearoa set up a tent and invited people to take a book, decorate a butterfly with a coping tip and leave it on the tent to share with others. Sixty free books were handed out on the day and The Butterfly Diaries tent finished up covered in colourful butterflies and heaps of helpful tips people wanted to share.

Online orders flew in thick and fast since the release was first announced and another 2 00 books were posted out to across the country in the days following the launch. Books have been sent to Kaitaia, Kohukohu, Kerikeri, Whangarei, all across Auckland, Hamilton, Raglan, Thames, Tauranga, Timaru, Wellington, Lower Hutt, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill and a range of towns the team had never heard of before. Orders even came in from as far afield as Glasgow and The Netherlands in the first few days. There are now only 20 copies of the first print run left and the team at Engage Aotearoa are in the process of ordering more.

As soon as the books flew out into the world, the first comments started flying in…

“I’ve read my copy of the Butterfly Diaries and think it’s excellent – you must be really pleased with the end result, as I imagine the participants are. I’d be keen to get a box of them so we can take them with us when we present around the country.”

Order Online

The Butterfly Diaries is free for individuals in the community. A small donation is requested to cover the cost of postage and handling ($2.50 p/bk). If you cannot donate, simply email Engage Aotearoa with your address and you’ll be sent a copy anyway.

Organisations can order copies online by making a donation to cover the cost of printing and posting the copies ordered ($5 p/bk). This allows Engage Aotearoa to keep free copies available for individuals in the community who may not use services.

Share the poster with the people you know and help make recovery stories easy for Kiwis to find.

Posted in: Engage Updates, Families/Whanau, Men, News, Parents and Parenting, Personal Development Tools, Recovery Stories, Service-User Movement, Social Change, Suicide Prevention/Support, Women, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: Book Launch, Fiesta in The Park, Free Book, Suicide Recovery Stories, The Butterfly Diaries Volume 1

The Butterfly Diaries Volume 1: Launch & Order Details

September 28, 2013 1:54 am ⋅ admin

The Butterfly Diaries Volume 1 is a FREE book of inspiring stories and personal tips from four people who have recovered from the experience of being suicidal.

Launch Details:

NOTE: Event Moved to Sunday 13th of October due to rain forecast for Saturday the 12th.

Engage Aotearoa will be launching The Butterfly Diaries Volume 1 at Fiesta in the Park on the 13th of October for Mental Health Awareness Week. Come along to the free public concert and pop into The Butterfly Diaries Tent – a quiet corner covered in white paper butterflies where you can stop by to decorate a butterfly with a survival tip of your own, pick up a copy of the book, relax with a copy in the reading corner or listen to the authors and editors read from the book.

Where: Fiesta in the Park, Western Park, Ponsonby, Auckland
When: From midday Sunday 13 October 2012
Reading Times:
12:30 – 1:00 pm Michelle Bolton reads from Breathe and Breathe and Breathe by Phoebe Wright
1:30 – 2:00 pm Owen Bullock reads from Enough Angels
2:30 – 3:00 pm Miriam Larsen-Barr reads from Welcome to Today by Henrietta Bollinger
3:30 – 4:00 pm Raewyn Alexander reads from Emerging from the Past, Transformed

The Butterfly Diaries, Volume 1
Four true stories of transformation told by four New Zealand writers.

Stories by Raewyn Alexander, Henrietta Bollinger, Owen Bullock and Phoebe Wright.
Foreword by Mike King
Edited by Miriam Larsen-Barr and Michelle Bolton

In Aotearoa, New Zealand, 1 in 6 people have suicidal thoughts each year. It is a normal human response to feel hopeless sometimes. It takes a great deal of distress tolerance, brute determination, skill development, support and understanding to survive the urge to act on those thoughts and feelings when they arise. But hardly anyone ever talks about suicidal thoughts and feelings, making it even harder for people to find out how to get through. The Butterfly Diaries gives voice to the stories of those who have been there and made it out alive. Sean, Jane, Mary and Brad have all been suicidal, survived their own suicide attempts and found their way to a place where they are glad to be living their lives. In The Butterfly Diaries they share how they strengthened their wings and learned to fly.

The first edition of The Butterfly Diaries Volume 1 will be placed in high-schools and GP waiting rooms across the NZ, to make recovery stories easy to find. Suicide rates peak among youth and most people who are suicidal visit a GP in the months leading up to making an attempt, even if they do not talk about how they are really feeling.

How to Order Copies

You can nominate a service or person to receive a copy of The Butterfly Diaries or order a copy for yourself by making a donation on the Engage Aotearoa website to cover the cost of posting your book. Just fill in your details and give the delivery address in the space provided. The minimum donation is set at NZ$2.50 (the cost of NZ postage and handling). A donation of $5 will get a copy posted for you and cover the costs of printing a copy for someone else.

Click here to order a copy of The Butterfly Diaries

Contact Engage Aotearoa for more information

Want to help prevent suicide in NZ?

You can help get more copies of The Butterfly Diaries out there for people to read. Sponsor a print run by making a donation on the Engage Aotearoa website. Every donation over $5 is tax deductible. A $20 donation pays for eight more books. A $500 donation prints enough books for a small school.

Posted in: Asian Communities, Community Participation, Engage Updates, Entertainment and Creativity, Families/Whanau, Maori Communities, Men, News, Older People and Aging, Parents and Parenting, People with Disabilities, Personal Development Tools, Recovery Stories, Service-User Movement, Social Change, Suicide Prevention/Support, Women, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: Fiesta in The Park, Free Book, Mental Health Awareness Week 2013, Order, Recovering from Suicidality, Sponsor, Suicide, The Butterfly Diaries, Western Park

The Victory Fashion Parade | Whangarei | 28 Sep 2013

September 28, 2013 12:05 am ⋅ admin

When Engage Aotearoa visited Whangarei with Mike King and Key to Life for the Community Korero earlier this year, the team met a wonderful woman named Vicky Flavell who wanted to put her passion for fashion design behind a good cause.

The Victory Fashion Parade brings together designers from the Far North for a night of style, with all proceeds going towards Engage Aotearoa’s project to get printed copies of The Community Resources Directory and The Butterfly Diaries out into communities across the country. Making help easy to find when people are struggling is an important part of preventing suicide in NZ. Now, the people of Whangarei can help make that happen just by enjoying a good night out with their friends.

6 pm, Saturday 28 September 2013
Toll Stadium, Whangarei
Tickets $40
Contact no. 021 144 6080

Posted in: Community Participation, Engage Updates, Entertainment and Creativity, Families/Whanau, Men, News, Parents and Parenting, Service-User Movement, Social Change, Suicide Prevention/Support, Women, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: By Design, Charlotte Davidson, CMHRT, Community Resources Directory, Engage Aotearoa, Mercy, Neishamaree, Samantha Wakelin Design, Simon Richards, Steampunk Whangarei, Tailor Made Style, The Victory Fashion Parade, Toll Stadium, Whangarei

Mike King Korero Heads to Taranaki Region in September

August 11, 2013 9:25 pm ⋅ admin

Mike King and Tai Tupou are hitting the road again in September to encourage schools and communities to make it cool to korero about the tough stuff, so we all make it through.

10 September, 1 pm, Cool to Korero, Francis Douglas College, New Plymouth
10 September, 7:30 pm, Community Korero, War Memorial Hall, Stratford
11 September, 7:30 pm, Community Korero, Waves Building, New Plymouth
11 September, 12:30 am, Cool to Korero for Hawera High and Patea Area School, The Hub, Hawera
12 September, 11:30 am, Combined Community Cool to Korero, Opunake College, Opunake

While the team at Key to Life are getting ready to hit the road, the team at Engage Aotearoa will be adding recovery resources from each of these towns to The Community Resources Directory, so they can be delivered to those who need them when the team hits the ground in each of their locations across Taranaki. If you know of any services in the Taranaki region you think others would find useful, email them in.