Celebrations As Taranaki Retreat Turns Five

Taranaki Retreat is celebrating its fifth anniversary by embracing 5eptember as a month of raising awareness and funds, including a call for donors to be part of a “team of 555”.

Pou Ārahi/Executive Officer Jamie Allen says regular donations will help secure the future of the Retreat, dedicated to supporting people through tough times.

“We want to build up 555 people who are donating to make the Retreat viable for the next five years to help us keep our doors open,” he says.

If people set up an automatic payment, even for $5 a month, that would help keep the suicide prevention initiative as part of the community. People can also donate at givealittle.co.nz/cause/5eptember.

Along with the call for the team of 555, there will be a variety of raising funds and awareness events in 5eptember, including a virtual biking journey from the top to the tip of Aotearoa.

“People have stayed from Cape Reinga to Bluff, literally, and received all the aroha the Taranaki community has been able to express through the Retreat,” Jamie says.

Retreat Life Coach Liz Fry, who is organising the 5eptember events, says cyclists are being sought to book in their slot on the exercise bikes at New Plymouth support hub Waimanako/The Hope Centre on 5eptember 10. Even people out of the city and even Taranaki, can be involved by gaining sponsorship to clock up the kilometres.

The birthday celebrations begin on Thursday 5eptember 1 with a launch night at Te Huinga/The Gathering in the Kai-for-Koha space at Waimanako, where there will be live music, dance acts and a silent auction.

Other activities during the birthday month, include a working bee at Waimanako on a dry date and candle lighting in memory of lost loved ones in the support hub on 5eptember 10 to mark World Suicide Prevention Day. “Listening Ear team members will be available to stand alongside you while the candle is lit,” Jamie says. People are welcome throughout the day between 10am-9pm.

Liz says the celebrations will embrace International Chocolate Day on 5eptember 13 and, on 5eptember 17 there will be a Pop Up Sale, including crafts, furniture, books, clothes and a bake sale. “If you would like to donate quality items, please bring them in between 9am-9pm, Monday to Saturday,” Liz says.

The same day, Liz will be running the popular Soul Board Workshop at Waimanako. All ticket money is going to Taranaki Retreat.

On 5eptember 24, there will be a Living Library event. “We are really excited to have this back in the mix again! We have some human books lining up to share their story,” Jamie says.

From 5eptember 26 to October 2 is Mental Health Awareness Week, which will feature a variety of workshops for people to be involved in and three Support Expo offerings. These will be at Ngāmotu/New Plymouth on 5eptember 26, Te Hāwera on the 27th and Whakaahurangi/Stratford on the 28th. “Come along and meet the people that can support your wellbeing in the community,” Liz says.

Jamie and wife Suzy led the way to create Taranaki Retreat, which opened in 2017 thanks to huge community support.

The Retreat is nestled in lush land on Hurford Rd, Ōmata, beneath the gaze of Taranaki Maunga. This is a place where people can stay for free, so they have space to breathe and begin or continue their healing journey. In this sanctuary, guests are supported by the host family and peer support team, nourished with lovingly prepared food and offered a number of activities, called “star attractions”.

During the five years since opening, thousands of people have been helped by the Retreat and its outreach support team, and now also at Waimanako in the Metro Plaza, downtown New Plymouth. It also includes the Kai-for-Koha café.

Waimanako is a welcoming place where people can connect with the Listening Ears team, take part in all kinds of workshops and support groups. “It’s people helping people,” Jamie says. Taranaki Retreat has evolved since its inception. “It’s a bit of a social movement; it’s an organisation that’s trying to change up the way we deal with our mental health and the way we care for one another, to offer peer support as a way forward and to offer a time out space when things get tough.”

But for Taranaki Retreat and Waimanako to continue and flourish, the organisation needs ongoing community support and that “team of 555”.

For more information about the 5eptember events or supporting the Retreat, go to taranakiretreat.org.nz or email info@taranakiretreat.org.nz, coachliz@taranakiretreat.org.nz, phone 062150993.

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