Kia ora whānau

It’s incredible to think we are now at Alert Level 1 and continue to report no new cases of COVID-19.

My thanks to all of you both as mental health and addiction professionals and also as New Zealanders for the part you have played in getting our team of five million here.

I know I’m enjoying many of the freedoms that Alert Level 1 brings but am conscious that for many of us, the period of lockdown and emerging from the relative comfort and safety of your bubbles might be more of a challenge. Dr Sarb Johal has written a really great feature below about how we’re all likely to be coping with FOGO – fear of going out – differently. And Saba Khan-Hunt shares with the All Right? team her experience of lockdown and easing back into life outside her bubble.

On Tuesday, I was invited on Radio NZ Nine to Noon to join Youthline Chief Executive Shae Donald and Barnados General Manager of Advocacy Dr Claire Achmad to talk about youth mental health; and in particular the impact of COVID-19 on young people.

As you will have seen in previous newsletters, we have put some extra funding into making sure young Kiwis have more choice of where they can access support if they need it, including Youthline’s webchat service, self-help tools like Melon and online courses like Staying on Track.

We are also currently evaluating the Youth RFP and will have announcements over the next couple of months about a range of additional youth services that will receive funding.

Ngā mihi nui

Robyn