The unveiling of a sculpture in central Christchurch today marks the beginning of a major public appeal to raise $1 million for a better outpatient space for Canterbury kids needing mental health support.

Every month around 400 Canterbury kids are referred for specialist support for their mental health. Current outpatient facilities where they are cared for are old, cramped and not fit-for-purpose.

Spearheaded by Māia Health Foundation, the Better Space Appeal is part of Māia’s commitment to raise $6 million for a new outpatient space in Canterbury, which will be called Kahurangi meaning “blue skies”. It will be home to Canterbury’s Child, Adolescent and Family (CAF) outpatient service, which provides mental health services for children and young people up to 18 years of age.

The $16 million facility is being jointly funded and developed by Māia Health Foundation and Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury, with Māia’s contribution enabling the facility to be truly world-class – taking it from good to great. So far Māia has raised $4.2 million – the Better Space Appeal is part of the final push to reach the $6 million goal.

“Our kids are in crisis, with huge demand for our mental health services. We urgently need a better space for our kids to receive the help they so desperately need. By supporting Māia’s Better Space Appeal together, as a community, we can build that space,” Māia Health Foundation CEO Michael Flatman says.

All donations to the Better Space Appeal will be doubled thanks to Rātā Foundation, which has promised to match every dollar donated up to $500,000.

“The work being done on the frontline daily at the current CAF facilities to change lives and give hope to our young people and their whānau is incredible, despite battling old, outdated buildings. Kahurangi will take how staff give and rangatahi receive and experience that care to another level,” Rātā Foundation Chief Executive Leighton Evans says.

The Rātā partnership with Māia, to match every dollar donated during the public appeal, was an innovative funding approach piloted during Māia’s 13 Minute Campaign that proved very successful.

Leighton says it was a no-brainer to join forces again with Māia for this appeal.

“No-one is disappointed to see their money double – especially when it is going to a great cause, and their impact is amplified. We encourage the public to get behind it, knowing the Rātā contribution will be directly at the level of community support.”

Around 70 Canterbury primary and high school students will gather by the Bridge of Remembrance for today’s launch, during which a sculpture, carved by acclaimed Māori artist Fayne Robinson, will be unveiled. The 2.1 metre high by 2.3 metre wide steel and tōtara sculpture, supported by Westpac, will be on display by the Bridge of Remembrance for four weeks. It will eventually be installed at the new outpatient space.

Attending the launch will be Kathryn and Jack Robinson, a mother and son who are bravely sharing their story in support of the Better Space Appeal. Jack was treated by the Child, Adolescent and Family mental health team during 2020 when his mind was “taken over” by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

“I was lost and I didn’t know if I was ever going to get back to the normal me,” Jack says.

Jack says he owes the CAF team everything.

“To put it lightly, they’ve saved me. They’ve saved me from dying.”

Kathryn says there were times she just couldn’t see how Jack was ever going to get better.

“I was absolutely broken with a completely broken son. Now I have a son who is happy, healthy, whole, and working towards his dreams at university. I’m so grateful to CAF and all they’ve done for Jack and our family, to give him a future he deserves,” Kathryn says.

Kathryn wants all rangatahi to have the best chance at life, just like Jack.

“The therapist that Jack was working with was incredible. Pay her a million dollars, she was amazing. But unfortunately, the facilities where they work – and where our young people receive treatment – aren’t. Everyone who works there, and our young people and families who access the service, deserve better,” Kathryn says.

Kathryn says a new outpatient space will give more families hope while Jack says he’s excited to know there will be a brand new space where young people can feel comfortable and where they can get well.

Over the last 10 years, the number of children and young people seen by specialist mental health teams in Canterbury has increased 121%, compared to a 34% increase for adult mental health. In the 12 months to the end of June 2023, 4,638 children and young people were referred to the CAF service in addition to the service’s current caseload.

“We’re seeing more young people than ever before needing help with their mental health, and the complexity and severity of their troubles has increased. The young people we see are very unwell,” Deborah Selwood, Child, Adolescent and Family Service Manager says.

With the increase in the severity and complexity of mental health issues young people are experiencing, they are needing to be seen more often to help them recover, with the CAF service seeing a 157% increase in clinical interactions over the last decade.

There has also been a 36% increase in CAF emergency assessments from 2020 to 2023, with the service seeing an average of 72 emergency presentations each month. These are young people who are high risk, extremely unwell and many need to be seen urgently.

Amy Edwards is a clinical psychologist at CAF. She says the young people she works with are being robbed of their childhood.

“Their mental health is taking over their days. I’ve had many young people tell me they just don’t want to be alive. It’s heartbreaking for the young person and their family.

“Our young people need our community now more than ever. By supporting the Better Space Appeal you will give us Kahurangi, and Kahurangi will give us an incredible place where we can better support and care for our tamariki and rangatahi.

“Being able to welcome them into a beautiful new space made with young people in mind, where we can offer modern treatments in a cohesive way, it’s going to be a game changer. I know it will make a true difference to so many lives,” Amy says.

Michael Flatman says our mental health workforce is doing all it can to respond to the increasing demand they are experiencing, but they are hamstrung by the outdated facilities they are bringing our most vulnerable young people into – but supporting Māia’s Better Space Appeal will change that.

“Please donate to the Better Space Appeal. Invest in the future of our young people and our city by giving our most vulnerable young people a welcoming, purpose-designed, world-class space where we can support their wellbeing and recovery. With every dollar you donate being doubled thanks to the incredible generosity of the Rātā Foundation, you can double the difference you make. Please make your difference today,” Michael Flatman says.

Fit out works at the new outpatient space are commencing in September 2023 with the new Child, Adolescent and Family outpatient facility due to be complete in mid-2024.

For further information or to give to Māia’s Better Space Appeal go to www.betterspace.org.nz.

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