Rural mental health advocate retires
After 18 years, a Southland man is stepping down from his role with Rural Support Trust, while still keeping his mental health workshop project, which he began in Gore.
Wendonside-based Lindsay Wright is moving into retirement to spend more time with his grandchildren and other relationships, and is no longer a trustee of Rural South, which he has been with since its 2008 inception.
Despite this move into retirement, he remained on the trust governing mental health literacy workshop GoodYarn, which he started with Southern health network WellSouth in 2014.
Mr Wright said as a direct result of Rural Support's involvement in the 2010 Southland snowstorm response, he was invited to join with WellSouth to develop a mental health workshop for rural people in the Otago-Southland region.
After the adverse weather event, he said WellSouth researched what information was available for rural people following adverse events and mental health challenges and there was "basically nothing".
The network approached Mr Wright, who had a background in Toastmasters and education.
He delivered the pilot workshop in Gore more than ten years ago.
Now conversations around mental illness were more common, but he said at the time mental health was not something discussed openly.
"It was just something that nobody talked about ... it was very difficult to have a conversation with anybody," he said.
"We were just saying to people, it doesn't have to be difficult, it doesn't have to be clever, it's just about understanding that if you recognise that something's going on, then it's OK to talk about it."
He said the now developed workshops were to help people recognise the signs and symptoms of mental illness, which was something he had experienced firsthand.
In 2005 Mr Wright was a beef and lamb farmer when he experienced a bout of depression.
"I got to the stage where I was in such a low point I had every job that I had to do was written on a post-it note," he said.
Following this, he leased his farm and received counselling, which gave him tools he later applied to the workshops and his work at Rural South.
"Everything I've done, all my experiences good and challenging throughout my life, have all been an apprenticeship for what I've been doing now."
He said Rural Support remained a conduit for farmers experiencing mental health challenges or responding to adverse events, connecting them with the right help.
"Our job is to sit with you as a rural person, talk about your particular situation and in consultation with you, help you find the appropriate services or professionals who can best help you."
ella.scott-fleming@alliedpress.co.nz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Call for action on creating more health roles for Māori
Calls for the government to create more roles for Māori in health in the Southern region will mean nothing if they are not followed by action, the leader of a major Māori health organisation says. Ōtākou Health Ltd (OHL) chairwoman Donna Matahaere-Atariki was responding to concern from Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) Southern leader Dr Hywel Lloyd, who at a recent Southern community meeting said he was "disappointed that Māori leadership has been confirmed to not be coming back to the districts". Ms Matahaere-Atariki shared the disappointment, but said if it was up to HNZ, there would never be the support those roles would need. "If Māori are going to wait on government to make room for us in leadership roles, we're never going to get there. "So my position has always been that I know I have enough information to be a leader in health here and I will take those roles if they're there." OHL created Te Kaika, an integrated health service, in 2018. It now has more than 12,000 people on its books across the region, and through its low-cost approach, is able to offer initiatives such as free dental care for under-18s. "What I've found in my experience is these roles and these Māori roles that [government] created, they have leadership roles, but they never have a budget, they have no staff and so you might get the high salary, but you're actually not able to do anything. "So I think it's better that I've always said, 'no, we'll create our leaders on the outside and we'll wait for them to lean into us'. "So rather than chasing that up, because we can't be held hostage to whatever government is in town and whoever thinks what is right." Previous health board roles dedicated to Māori were "practically useless", she said. "The problem is when you produce Māori leadership roles in your organisation, sometimes you think you don't actually have to go out there and talk to community. "Māori leaders are not public servants — we serve our communities." She said Te Kāika, which is based in Dunedin, Oamaru and Queenstown, was a "one-stop health shop" which improved health and wellbeing outcomes for all whānau and community by making essential health, social, education and employment services affordable and accessible across the wider Otago region. "When we set up Te Kaika and we had to pay for all that ourselves, you know, we got a big bank loan and that to build that — our attitude was 'we set up the infrastructure, they will come knocking'. "We know that we've got ourselves into a position where we have the only health infrastructure that doesn't belong to government in town. "We had to use our own money to get into the sector, set up the infrastructure and then be noticed by them. But we did that really well." The Dunedin base in Caversham was a site designated for high-density residential living. "We could have just gone and built apartments there, but we didn't want to do that. "The most outstanding lesson I've learned is we can't rely on government to look after us. We've had so many reviews that say they don't look after Māori — I'm sort of tired of these reviews and reports." Te Kaika's success reminded her of the need to grasp opportunities. "Over the years, I've realised that there are particular moments that were a perfect storm, that allowed us to put it right at that time: we got that money from the Whanau Ora Commission, the Ministry of Health, and the Education Ministry gave us that building until it was sold — then, of course, when it was sold, we bought it. "So, there was a perfect storm at that gate." She said she wanted to thank Dr Lloyd for his "well-intentioned" comments. "From his perspective, there doesn't seem to be any Māori voice there [in HNZ Southern]. "I think that's important. However, that Māori voice needs to know what they're saying or else I don't want to hear it." HNZ has been approached for comment.
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Call for action on creating more health roles for Maori
Calls for the government to create more roles for Maori in health in the Southern region will mean nothing if they are not followed by action, the leader of a major Maori health organisation says. Ōtākou Health Ltd (OHL) chairwoman Donna Matahaere-Atariki was responding to concern from Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) Southern leader Dr Hywel Lloyd, who at a recent Southern community meeting said he was "disappointed that Māori leadership has been confirmed to not be coming back to the districts". Ms Matahaere-Atariki shared the disappointment, but said if it was up to HNZ, there would never be the support those roles would need. "If Māori are going to wait on government to make room for us in leadership roles, we're never going to get there. "So my position has always been that I know I have enough information to be a leader in health here and I will take those roles if they're there." OHL created Te Kaika, an integrated health service, in 2018. It now has more than 12,000 people on its books across the region, and through its low-cost approach, is able to offer initiatives such as free dental care for under-18s. "What I've found in my experience is these roles and these Māori roles that [government] created, they have leadership roles, but they never have a budget, they have no staff and so you might get the high salary, but you're actually not able to do anything. "So I think it's better that I've always said, 'no, we'll create our leaders on the outside and we'll wait for them to lean into us'. "So rather than chasing that up, because we can't be held hostage to whatever government is in town and whoever thinks what is right." Previous health board roles dedicated to Maori were "practically useless", she said. "The problem is when you produce Māori leadership roles in your organisation, sometimes you think you don't actually have to go out there and talk to community. "Maori leaders are not public servants — we serve our communities." She said Te Kāika, which is based in Dunedin, Oamaru and Queenstown, was a "one-stop health shop" which improved health and wellbeing outcomes for all whānau and community by making essential health, social, education and employment services affordable and accessible across the wider Otago region. "When we set up Te Kaika and we had to pay for all that ourselves, you know, we got a big bank loan and that to build that — our attitude was 'we set up the infrastructure, they will come knocking'. "We know that we've got ourselves into a position where we have the only health infrastructure that doesn't belong to government in town. "We had to use our own money to get into the sector, set up the infrastructure and then be noticed by them. But we did that really well." The Dunedin base in Caversham was a site designated for high-density residential living. "We could have just gone and built apartments there, but we didn't want to do that. "The most outstanding lesson I've learned is we can't rely on government to look after us. We've had so many reviews that say they don't look after Maori — I'm sort of tired of these reviews and reports." Te Kaika's success reminded her of the need to grasp opportunities. "Over the years, I've realised that there are particular moments that were a perfect storm, that allowed us to put it right at that time: we got that money from the Whanau Ora Commission, the Ministry of Health, and the Education Ministry gave us that building until it was sold — then, of course, when it was sold, we bought it. "So, there was a perfect storm at that gate." She said she wanted to thank Dr Lloyd for his "well-intentioned" comments. "From his perspective, there doesn't seem to be any Maori voice there [in HNZ Southern]. "I think that's important. However, that Maori voice needs to know what they're saying or else I don't want to hear it." HNZ has been approached for comment.
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Retirement village garden shortlisted
Gardening enthusiasts have made a communal space at Aurum on Clutha their own, impressing a national judging panel in the process. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED A group of green-thumbed residents at Aurum on Clutha in Clyde are finalists in the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) Sustainability Awards. One solid growing season in, the resident-led project at the village to establish a community garden has caught the eye of judges. Village manager Sonya Attfield said about 18 months ago some of the residents came to her with an idea of starting their own garden and a space was made available for their use. "HPA [the builders on site] made some large planter boxes, and the residents took it from there," she said. A 15-strong gardening club had been established. They meet regularly meeting for Tuesday morning working bees and they are eyeing expansion as more residents look to join. Group convener and keen gardener Ray Wright said a tunnel house, shed and worm farm added to the set-up. Potatoes, shallots, red onions, carrots, salad greens, silverbeet, spinach, peppers, rhubarb and rocket had all been grown, with an impressive tomato crop — grown both indoors and out — the "highlight", Mr Wright said. "The food just kept coming ... At the end of the season, we had a lot of produce left, and we made pickles, which are being distributed around the members." While the cooler weather meant jobs in the garden had slowed, a winter crop of leeks, brassicas and onions was already in the ground, he said. Alongside the produce, the garden had also provided a place for connection, and friendships had grown. "Most gardeners are individuals ... but this group of 15 have all brought their own strengths to the garden and therefore it has been a wonderful learning curve for all of us, particularly me," Mr Wright said. Ms Attfield said many of the residents at the village had a lifelong love of gardening and providing the outdoor area allowed them "the continuation of that passion". She would often see residents popping out to the garden to grab a homegrown ingredient to add to a meal, while any excess made available to other residents, she said. Nine environmental and community projects throughout the country had made the shortlist to take the top spots at the RVA awards. The winners will be announced at the organisation's conference later this month.
