Canterbury charity appeals for $1m to create a Better Space for Canterbury kids

A major public appeal launches in Christchurch today to help build a new outpatient space for children needing mental health support. Image / Supplied

The unveiling of a sculpture in central Christchurch today marks the beginning of a major public appeal to raise $1 million for a better outpatient space for Canterbury kids needing mental health support.

Every month around 400 Canterbury kids are referred for specialist support for their mental health but current outpatient facilities where they are cared for are old, cramped and not fit for purpose.

Spearheaded by Māia Health Foundation, the Better Space Appeal is part of Māia’s commitment to raising $6m for a new outpatient space in Canterbury, which will be called Kahurangi, meaning “blue skies”.

It will be home to Canterbury’s Child, Adolescent and Family (CAF) outpatient service, which provides mental health services for children and young people up to 18 years of age.

The $16m facility is being jointly funded and developed by Māia Health Foundation and Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury, with Māia’s contribution enabling the facility to be “truly world-class – taking it from good to great”.

The new outpatient space will be called Kahurangi and be home to Canterbury’s Child, Adolescent and Family (CAF) outpatient service. Image / Supplied

So far, Māia has raised $4.2m – the Better Space Appeal is part of the final push to reach the $6m goal.

“Our kids are in crisis, with huge demand for our mental health services,” Māia Health Foundation chief executive Michael Flatman said.

“We urgently need a better space for our kids to receive the help they so desperately need. By supporting Māia’s Better Space Appeal together, as a community, we can build that space.”

All donations to the Better Space Appeal will be doubled thanks to Rātā Foundation, which has promised to match every dollar donated up to $500,000.

Māia Health Foundation chief executive Michael Flatman. Photo / Supplied

“The work being done on the frontline daily at the current CAF facilities to change lives and give hope to our young people and their whānau is incredible, despite battling old, outdated buildings,” said Rātā Foundation chief executive Leighton Evans.

“Kahurangi will take how staff give and rangatahi receive and experience that care to another level.”

The Rātā partnership with Māia, to match every dollar donated during the public appeal, was an innovative funding approach piloted during Māia’s 13 Minute Campaign that proved very successful.

Evans said it was a no-brainer to join forces again with Māia for this appeal.

“No one is disappointed to see their money double – especially when it is going to a great cause, and their impact is amplified. We encourage the public to get behind it, knowing the Rātā contribution will be directly at the level of community support.”

Around 70 Canterbury primary and high school students will gather by the Bridge of Remembrance for today’s launch, during which a sculpture, carved by acclaimed Māori artist Fayne Robinson, will be unveiled.

The 2.1m high by 2.3m wide steel and tōtara sculpture, supported by Westpac, will be on display by the Bridge of Remembrance for four weeks. It will eventually be installed at the new outpatient space.

Attending the launch will be Kathryn and Jack Robinson, a mother and son who are bravely sharing their story in support of the Better Space Appeal.

Jack was treated by the Child, Adolescent and Family mental health team during 2020 when his mind was “taken over” by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

“I was lost and I didn’t know if I was ever going to get back to the normal me,” Jack said.

Jack says he owes the CAF team everything.

“To put it lightly, they’ve saved me. They’ve saved me from dying.”

Attending the launch will be Kathryn and Jack Robinson, a mother and son who are bravely sharing their story in support of the Better Space Appeal. Photo / Supplied

Kathryn Robinson says there were times she just couldn’t see how Jack was ever going to get better.

“I was absolutely broken with a completely broken son,” she said.

“Now I have a son who is happy, healthy, whole, and working towards his dreams at university. I’m so grateful to CAF and all they’ve done for Jack and our family, to give him a future he deserves.”

Kathryn Robinson wants all rangatahi to have the best chance at life, just like Jack.

“The therapist that Jack was working with was incredible,” she said.

“Pay her a million dollars, she was amazing. But unfortunately, the facilities where they work – and where our young people receive treatment – aren’t. Everyone who works there, and our young people and families who access the service, deserve better.”

Artist Fayne Robinson working on the new sculpture. Photo / Supplied

Kathryn Robinson says a new outpatient space will give more families hope while Jack says he’s excited to know there will be a brand-new space where young people can feel comfortable and where they can get well.

Over the past 10 years, the number of children and young people seen by specialist mental health teams in Canterbury has increased 121 per cent, compared to a 34 per cent increase for adult mental health.

In the 12 months to the end of June 2023, 4638 children and young people were referred to the CAF service in addition to the service’s current caseload.

“We’re seeing more young people than ever before needing help with their mental health, and the complexity and severity of their troubles has increased. The young people we see are very unwell,” said Deborah Selwood, Child, Adolescent and Family Service Manager.

With the increase in the severity and complexity of mental health issues young people are experiencing, they need to be seen more often to help them recover, with the CAF service seeing a 157 per cent increase in clinical interactions over the last decade.

There has also been a 36 per cent increase in CAF emergency assessments from 2020 to 2023, with the service seeing an average of 72 emergency presentations each month. These are young people who are high-risk, extremely unwell and many need to be seen urgently.

Amy Edwards, a clinical psychologist at CAF, said the young people she works with are being robbed of their childhood.

“Their mental health is taking over their days,” Edwards said.

“I’ve had many young people tell me they just don’t want to be alive. It’s heartbreaking for the young person and their family.

“Our young people need our community now more than ever.

“Being able to welcome them into a beautiful new space made with young people in mind, where we can offer modern treatments in a cohesive way, it’s going to be a game changer. I know it will make a true difference to so many lives.”

The new Child, Adolescent and Family outpatient facility is due to be completed in mid-2024.

For further information or to give to Māia’s Better Space Appeal go to www.betterspace.org.nz.