New Zealand Maori Council Rolls Out Suicide Prevention And Mental Health Resources

New Zealand Maori Council rolls out suicide prevention and mental health resources, for whanau, small business and more

An important announcement about mental health and suicide prevention "you are not ALONE".

YouTube video of the announcement here.

Facebook video of the announcement here.

Resource page here.

Small business mental health article here.

I know that there are a great many Maori and New Zealanders out there who are struggling with the tyranny of isolation while at the time struggling with not knowing if you have a job or not or if your small business will survive the lockdown. Maori have the highest suicide rate per head of population not just here in Aotearoa, but the developed world and we cannot allow this period of isolation and lockdown make that worse. As a former Chairman of Suicide Prevention Australia and active in the suicide prevention and mental health sector for many years I know there is always light at the end of the tunnel and people ready, willing and able to throw their shoulders to the wheel.

I also know that often a conversation at just the right time can make all the difference. And that is why the New Zealand Maori Council has today launched a series of resources in an online campaign to provide information and access to resources. For whanau and individuals it’s a very simple resource called “how to have a korero” of giving each of you some simple tools on who to identify a loved one might be depressed or suffering from anxiety, of how to ask the question “are you ok” and how to respond. It includes a series of help lines for everything from budgeting to relationships because I also know that it’s not all about mental health often it’s about the struggle of life. For small business owners out there who are also challenged comes resources about the five things you can do now to stay mentally healthy as well as three things you can do now to plan for the future and not just surviving as a small business but post lockdown thriving. For our parents out there it’s about what might be happening with your Tamariki; your children.

Listening without judgement and talking less while hearing more – this is a brave new world for our children as it is all of us – but together we can get through this. It’s a simple message of hope, aspiration and opportunity that each day your Maori Council, led by Henare Mason as Chair and Harvey ruru as Deputy focus our energy on. So, remember please share the resources and the posts, a conversation at just the right time can act as a circuit breaker and whenever we see a storm raging towards us comes also the sunlight to break it. Together as Maori, as whanau and as all New Zealanders we can stand against the storm.

Resources will be published here. For more information and resources check out https://www.maorieverywhere.com/howtohaveakorero

Nga mihi,

Matthew Tukaki

Executive Director, New Zealand Maori Council

Chairman, New Zealand Maori Council Auckland District

Member, National Executive of New Zealand Maori Council

Chairman, the National Maori Authority Nga Ngaru

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