Time For Change
Keynote presentation at the International eMental Health Forum.
Keynote presentation at the International eMental Health Forum.
The growing concern about the number of homeless young people prompted this service to develop a specific service to support them off the streets. I led the evaluation of this innovative pilot which included a review of utilisation stats and interviews with clients, staff and stakeholders in key youth-support agencies.
Every time we hear about suicide in the TV, radio or social media it has a huge impact on us and our communities. I led academic research into this which informed government guidelines on media reporting, this part was published in the peer-reviewed journal Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention.
Reaching out for help can be a huge threshold to cross and helplines can help those who can't or don't want to visit a mental health or social service. I was privileged to be Lifeline's first national manager to bring together over a dozen silo'd services into one cohesive platform of helping and online support.
New Zealand is well known for its struggles with suicide, especially amongst indigenous Māori and young people. I was privileged to be the first lived experience member on the Ministry of Health Suicide Prevention Task Force to help develop the first Suicide Prevention Strategy.