$500,000 of government funding has been matched by key local funders, mainly Red Stag Timber and Rotorua Trust in order to support a predicted 560 young peopleunder the Government’s Mental Health Innovation Fund.

The Rotorua Community Youth Centre Trust, which trades as Taiohi Tūrama – Rotorua Centre for Youth, provides free primary health, mental health, and social services to young people and has seen an increased need for mental health and wellbeing services. Taiohi are dealing with more than ever today, including poverty, social media issues, trauma, intergenerational issues, disconnection, and peer pressure – all contributing to increased anxiety.

The money will be used to employ another fulltime mental health practitioner and two more youth workers as well as contribute towards programmes that upskill others to help young people such as a mental health first aid course that will be offered to 120 Rotorua people working with young people, giving “frontline people” the skills to be an early intervention when dealing with young people who might be distressed or in crisis.

Rotorua Trust and Red Stag Timber each contributed $200,000 towards the fund to help match the Government’s $500,000 contribution. The remaining $100,000 came from other smaller funders.

The Mental Health Innovation Fund was set up to provide $10 million over two years to support non-government organisations and community providers with extra funding.

Full Herald Article here https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/rotorua-youth-mental-health-gets-1m-boost-with-government-local-funding/SQKG7L3QVZCT5KSLP5LAISRXOQ/