Mental health advocate wins $10,000 for work supporting first responders
A woman has won $10,000 to go towards her efforts to set up a mental health homestead for first responders.
Takapuna resident Rebecca Nelson’s charity Te Kiwi Maia envisions a place where first responders can go to feel supported and access therapy.
The 33-year-old has been recognised in the 2021 Westfield Local Heroes community grants program for her work.
Te Kiwi Maia was born 18 months ago while Nelson was visiting the UK.
“I went to an establishment called Tedworth Health, a beautiful place over there where one of my dear friends actually went to get some help,” she said.
“It had everything you required as a veteran, music therapy, animal therapy, it had lots of art, and families could go and stay there too.”
Nelson, who is a member of the New Zealand Navy, questioned why similar support was absent back home.
She has teamed up with first responders like the army, airforce, navy, police, ambulance and firefighters to make it a reality.
“Our aim is to get a homestead or a working farm here in NZ, so there our people who are currently serving or are ex-service can go to get the therapy they require due to wounded injured or ill through line of duty,” she said.
While fundraising continues for the homestead, Nelson will start taking away first responders for a week of respite.
She is working with Massey University to create a programme that is based around people’s needs.
“A lot of veterans are relieved excited. I know there’s a lot of them who have potentially gone through stages of their careers where they would have liked to take some time out and to decompress from whatever the situation was that they witnessed,” she said.
“It’s about time, they’ve been saying, and they’re really glad that we’re collaborating to make this happen.”
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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63.1% Summer
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35.5% Winter
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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