Rotary is tackling the impending mental health crisis in Northern New Zealand with an innovative early intervention program for primary and intermediate aged school children.
Rotarians in District 9910 are responding to calls for help from teachers and principals at schools across the northern part of New Zealand in what is being called an impending mental health crisis in young people. Northland is an area of New Zealand with the highest level of social deprivation as well as shockingly high rates of suicide and mental health issues. Research shows that 50 per cent of mental health issues start before the age of 12, hence the reason for early intervention and providing skills for resilience for children at an early age.
Rotary has teamed up with Cat Levine, mental health advocate and founder of a training and resource program for schools called Think and Be Me, to deliver the resource to 60 Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) schools throughout 2023-24. The project is known as the Te Tai Tokerau Tamariki Mental Health and Wellbeing Project (Translation: Northland Children’s Health and Wellbeing Project).
The program involves training presentations for both students within these schools and a thorough professional development program for staff, so they know how to continue the conversations started with the students during the presentations. Discussions with teachers and principals reveal they are not adequately equipped during teacher training to deal with some of the serious mental health issues that confront them in the classroom environment. Resourcing via the Education Ministry is insufficient, and they are eager to obtain assistance from Rotary.
The project is to be operated as a pilot scheme with the hope that, if proven effective, it could be expanded further across New Zealand and potentially internationally.
Given the ambitious size of the project (NZ$600,000 in total) a lot of support was needed, and the organising team was heartened by the fact that funding was arranged within six weeks from a wide variety of sources including individual Rotarians, charitable trusts, Rotary clubs and through a global grant supported by every District in New Zealand, five in Australia, and three in South Korea.
The organising team is also aiming to get as many individual Rotarians involved in the delivery of the program as possible. One issue they are aiming to address is that many of the students in Northland who could benefit the most from receiving the messages delivered by the in-school presentations are often absent from school. Rotary clubs from across District 9910 will be travelling to Northland to visit each of the participating schools on the training days and delivering a range of fun additional activities like games, barbecues, and donations of Rotary Illustrated Dictionaries to try and ensure that as many kids are at school to participate in the training sessions as well as the games.
Mental Health is the responsibility of everyone in the community, and Rotary is very keen to play its part.
THE FACTS There is an urgent need to address the growing mental health problems among our youth. - 50 per cent of mental health conditions start before the age of 12 - One in four Kiwi kids will experience a mental health issue before the age of 18 - The cost to the New Zealand economy due to mental illness is estimated at NZ$6.2 billion - Development of emotional self-regulation in childhood is a core determinant of adolescent mental health.
Think and Be Me Rotary International has partnered with Cat Levine, creator of the Think and Be Me resource for schools, to deliver the resource to 60 Te Tai Tokerau schools throughout 2023-24. Since 2019, Cat has travelled around New Zealand delivering lessons on mental wellbeing to over 60,000 tamariki in schools. The lessons revealed a strong need for NZ-made resources, and so Cat created the Think and Be Me Wellbeing Hub with resources for home, school, and professionals working with children. Think and Be Me teaches emotional literacy, positive coping strategies, and cognitive-emotional strategies. Delivery of the resource includes: - Teacher training – emotional regulation in the classroom - School presentations – emotional regulation, dealing with anxiety and anger - Development and supply of digital resources such as plug-and-play videos and classroom activities Think and Be Me: - Has been designed in collaboration with mental health and education professionals - Delivers complex concepts in a simplified, fun and memorable way - Is aligned with the NZ Curriculum - Helps with anxiety issues and managing emotions - Is based on cognitive behavioural theory