There is a lot to like about the new approach being taken to tough youth issues in Northland.
Issues such as suicide, for example - not something we have historically liked to discuss openly. But the subject will come out of the closet within a unique programme launched in Whangareithis week.
To deal with a sensitive subject such as suicide, one has to look back to go forward.
What are the factors that can be changed so that the future can be changed? Clearly someone has analysed those factors before coming up with the the Promoting Whanau and Youth Resilience programme. It will use drama to address suicide, and offer hope through the play Matanui, by all accounts, a powerful conduit of lifesaving messages.
There will also be practical advice - professional development training to help whanau and communities identify and respond to risk factors in their own whanau/hapu and community.
The Northland District Health Board is funding three training programmes in Whangarei, Dargaville, Kaikohe and Kaitaia.
Then there is the "Travellers" programme, a school-based programme designed to help young people transition to high school and deal with change and difficult life challenges.
Suicide is a complex subject - some of those complexities will be unravelled through this new approach and undoubtedly more people will be able to make a simple choice - life.
