The past year in Tairāwhiti has been incredibly stressful and challenging for some people, with concerns about mental health a common theme in our community.
Nate Monika, Suicide Prevention Postvention Coordinator from Te Whatu Ora spoke recently with the Sunrise team and stressed the importance of people having support options.
“What works for one person isn’t necessarily the right fit for someone else. The groups in our community are all offering something slightly different, with no service more important than the other,” says Nate.
Many of us have been touched by suicide in one way or another, including local couple Rebecca and Derek Watson who lost their friend and colleague to suicide. The loss had a significant impact, prompting them in 2019 to seed a Suicide Prevention fund at Sunrise. What appealed to the couple about Sunrise was knowing that every year the surplus investment income would be granted to local groups making an impact in suicide prevention.
Nate says she’d love to see the endowment fund continue to grow so that smaller grassroots groups having a positive effect in our community can also be supported.
“Sunrise has the ability to fund smaller groups who often miss out on big government funding, helping to fill the gaps and make sure we’re reaching everyone who needs support,” says Nate.
Read more about our Suicide Prevention Endowment Fund here.
If you need support, please contact 0800 TAKATU (0800 825 288). Mon-Fri 9am-4pm.
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