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Nature Background

PS CONNECTIONS | WAIKATO

Uplifting Mental Health Services

  • Our first wānanga brought together primary and secondary child and youth mental health services.

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    We had a wānanga around five key sector challenges, created a range of solutions and developed initial action plans.

     

    The five challenges were:

    1. Increased demand and unmet need,

    2. Insufficient funding and systemic constraints,

    3. Limited workforce capacity,

    4. Competing mindsets and models,

    5. Relationships and collaborating.

  • This wānanga focused on whanaungatanga, setting a collective kawa, and sharing more about what our rangatahi services offered and where they sit in the Ecosystem of Services (see Ecosystem diagram).

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    We heard from the youth advisory group about what was important to them when engaging in services.

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    We reflected on our action plans and first steps.

  • We did a speed dating whanaungatanga activity, played a Bingo Game (an adapted self-audit tool on how youth friendly our services were (adapted from an audit tool from Whāraurau – National Centre for Workforce Development for the infant, child and adolescent mental health and alcohol and other addictions sector).

    We agreed to develop a shared website for both kaimahi and youth/whānau seeking services.

  • A presentation was given by Kia Pūāwai Services (our host for the day).

     

    We presented survey feedback indicating that participant organisations were benefiting from the wānanga through:

     

    • whanaungatanga and learning more about each other,

    • hearing rangatahi voices

    • connecting with others better,

    • thinking differently about how they work in collaboration,

    • adapting services and space to become more youth-friendly.


    The Youth Advisory Rōpū have been invited to provide youth audits on several service spaces.


    The youth consumer advisor (Eden Grimwood) from Whāraurau presented to the group.


    We reviewed our challenges and solutions once again, and committed to contributing to this collective forum moving into 2025.

Kotahitanga | Curiosity | Manaakitanga | Youth Voice | Whakamana | Wairua | Collective Voice | Tika me te pono | Aroha |

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