Projects & Activities
National Mental Health Promotion
Research and information
The Foundation publishes regular literature reviews and position papers on subjects relating to mental health and wellbeing. Subjects covered recently include sustainability, mindfulness, local government and wellbeing, and positive approaches to deal with and prevent bullying. We will be researching the application of the five ways to wellbeing in a New Zealand context. We also work with other researchers, internationally and locally to explore alignments with related projects.
Along with other organisations, researchers and research organisations we are advocating for internationally comparable national indicators on the extent of wellbeing and flourishing in New Zealand.
Advocacy and policy development
We both make direct submissions and support organisations (for instance Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children; Public Health Association; Age Concern and the Hope Foundation) that represent vulnerable populations to make submissions on local and national government policy development that have a direct or in-direct effect on the mental wellbeing of all New Zealanders. We also promote tools to measure the effectiveness policy development on the wellbeing of New Zealanders, such as the Whanau Ora Health Impact Assessment.
Organisational and community development
Our work in this area aims to equip organisations with the knowledge and skills to contribute to the improved mental wellbeing of their communities. We are currently developing, through pilot studies, the FEAT (Flourishing Environments Assessment Tool) in both school and Early Childhood Education settings. We also have longer term relattionships with organisations to support their work in increasing mental wellbeing.
Current examples include the Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children; the Domestic Violence and Disability Working Group; Whangarei Gambling Action Group (Forget the Bling Bling Do The Whanau Thing); and the Lakes District Health Board. We have also been actively involved through our team in Christchurch to promote wellbeing concepts throughout the work in the recovery of Christchurch following the earthquakes of 2010/2011.
We support national events and cultural activities that have a wellbeing component, for example Neighbours Day Aotearoa, Pink Shirt Day and Matariki. We can also work one-off or in shorter term engagements with organisations looking to improve their understanding of mental health and wellbeing in their communities. This work is often through provision of information, presentations and advice and mentoring.
Workforce development
It is our role to take leadership in enabling and supporting the development of skills in the delivery of mental health promotion across New Zealand. We host an e-network on Facebook for professionals working in activities that support mental health and wellbeing; we deliver seminars and training sessions; and we advocate for and support the integration of mental health models into various curriculums at educational institutions.
Social marketing and public education
We use social marketing and public education to inform people how to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes for all New Zealanders. This includes increasing the representation of positive mental health and wellbeing portrayed in the media and promoting behaviours that contribute to positive mental health and wellbeing. We also run a biennial event aimed to widen the dialogue about mental health and wellbeing.
Regional Like Minds, Like Mine
Tangata Whaiora leadership
Our work to support the leadership of people with experience of mental illness/tangata whaiora includes working with local and regional consumer groups to support their planning and the delivery of strong outcomes. We also facilitate the linking together of other regional LMLM providers and we support the work of the Advisory Group for Kai Xin Xing Dong – Asian Like Minds, Like Mine.
Workforce and organisational development
We work with a variety of organisations to support their Mental Health Promotion and anti-discrimination activities. We promote organisational policy and practice, including supporting the development of national Business Forums On Mental Health; working in Primary Care settings to support better practice; developing an anti-stigma training toolkit for organisations; and facilitating the Multi-Agency Social Inclusion (MASI) Action Group in the Auckland region.
Research and policy
We are currently carrying out research into young people’s experiences of discrimination. We also work at national level to promote fair social policy in relation to mental illness based on a human rights approach, and with Chinese-speaking communities through Kai Xin Xing Dong.
Specific populations
We help Whanau Ora providers to develop resources to support families around experiences of mental illness, we are developing a national Youth Action Network, and we support work in communities of people with a refugee background.
Media
Supplementing the National Like Minds, Like Mine Project, which is responsible for mass media advertising and the development of resources and information, we promote good media stories relating to mental illness and to challenge discriminatory reporting. This also includes providing training for local groups to support the aims of the project through their engagement with the media.
