Paige Sullivan will speak about 298 Youth Hub

Paige is a Trustee of the Korowai Youth Wellbeing Truast working out of 298 Youth Hub.

The Trust's work is outlined in the follwing notes.

Proposal to Christchurch Area Rotary Clubs – 298 Youth Health Centre

 

Summary and Introduction

 

The Korowai Youth Well-Being Trust operates the 298 Youth Health Centre, a one stop shop wrap-around service providing a free service to vulnerable young people aged between 10 and 25 years of age in the greater Christchurch area.  We help young people with their medical and mental health issues, address any risk-taking behaviours, and support them to engage with the community through training and development programmes.

 

Of the over 5,700 young people we see annually, our young people have a high level of acuity presenting for mental health issues, (over 70% with anxiety or depression) primarily due to trauma in early life. We continue to notice an increase in the number of young people who present with severe mental health needs, often complicated by complex social needs, family dysfunction, and synthetic drug use. Homelessness and budgeting advice are common reasons for attendance. All of our young people are supported by a dedicated team of doctors, nurses, counsellors, youth workers and administration staff, all of whom are working to capacity.

 

Korowai Youth Well-Being Trust does obtain funding from government agencies:

•  Canterbury District Health Board
  • 800 hours for both a doctor and a nurse
• The Ministry of Social Development
  • Contract with Oranga Tamariki to be a key provider for young people transitioning from their care
  • Contract to give addictions support
  • Contract with the Corrections Department to offer a mentoring service for young men released from the Youth Unit of the Men’s’ Prison.

 

These help to meet our weekly running cost of $13,500.00. However, these contracts only meet about 70% of our costs and we receive no money at all for mental health.

 

This means our organisation needs help to meet our goal of ensuring that the young people of Christchurch have the best chance to become healthy, fulfilled and contributing citizens to lead Christchurch forward into the future. As indicated, the cost of providing our wide range of services is far greater than the funding we receive. This means we need to fund our shortfall by seeking financial support from a variety of charities and trusts. Korowai Youth Well-Being Trust runs a mean and lean organisation. Our patient numbers are limited only by the amount of resources we have available to attend to them.

 

My 298 Journey

 

I became a Trustee of Korowai Youth Well-Being Trust (who operate 298 Youth Health) in mid 2019.

 

A fellow young board member and close friend Georgia and I sparked a conversation about starting a Youth Committee for 298 as we felt that just three young people on the board wasn’t enough youth voice – not to mention none of us were patients. Georgia and I sent out an initial survey to see who would be interested in joining the committee.

 

Georgia sadly committed suicide and passed away in November 2019. Since she passed, I have grown the Youth Committee in her legacy to now become a dedicated group of 13 young people who care deeply about youth health and wellbeing. Two of our members are patients of 298, and our Deputy Chair is a past patient.

 

We have conducted several projects within the past two years and have secured funding to run events. Examples of things we have done include:

• Attending over 15 community events to survey the general public on their perception of 298
• Running a teddy hospital at the Rolleston Fireworks to teach young people not to be scared of going to the doctors
  • This raised $500 for 298 Youth Health
• Running a panel evening “The Future of Youth Health” with panellists representing Youth Line, VOYCE, The Youth Hub, 298 Youth Health, CDHB Youth Advisory Council as well as Māori youth
  • 50 attendees

 

I am deeply passionate about the work of 298 and the Youth Committee. While the Youth Committee is not entirely relevant to this project, I hope that it gives you a little more insight to why I care so much about the organisation.

 

The Project

 

298 Youth Health currently serve a wide range of young people, both in terms of their geographic location and their life situation. This means that many of our young people face large barriers in regards to transport to 298. We currently have a car that was donated to us, but it is costing us money to maintain and is not as reliable as we would hope. A safe and reliable car would be an absolute game changer for 298.

 

One of the main aspirations of this project is to link Rotary to an organisation that are doing fantastic work for all young people. I would like to see this vehicle be a connection between youth and Rotary in Christchurch.

 

What would the car be used for?

We have a contract with Oranga Tamariki (Transition to Adulthood Services) in which we help young people who are exiting from Oranga Tamariki. It is an obligation within this contract for 298 staff to be meeting young people where they live. Some of the young people live as far out as Kaiapoi and Darfield, and staff cannot use personal cars for insurance purposes. In terms of what they would do with the young people, really anything!

 

For example, a staff member recently took a young person to their baby scan and purchased their baby photos for them. They also take them to help set up youth assistance payments through Winz, attend appointments, budgeting advice and job interviews etc. Really, we help young people leaving Oranga Tamariki to become independent adults by giving them a helping hand. 

 

The Manu Ka Rere (CYMHS 2025) contract provides additional support to the Oranga Tamariki (OT) Transition Services (TS). 298 is offering additional Peer Support Worker hours to support young people on the autism spectrum and those with an intellectual disability. Sometimes with young people on the spectrum leaving home can be a barrier so if we can travel to them it is just another barrier they don't have to face. 

 

Aside from these contracts, the car would be used for any other contracts we pick up in the future and other general things with existing patients. Many of our patients have social anxiety and find it hard to come into 298. The car will be available for staff to conduct home visits to reduce this barrier.

 

A past volunteer counsellor (now Trustee) Marg Flyvbjerg commented “when I did some volunteer counselling at 298 some years ago, I was surprised to see some senior high achieving girls, with heavily badged blazers attending. Some of these students held leadership roles in their schools but didn’t want to be seen by their school counsellors, as it might reveal a chink in their armour. 298 is a place where they can have their needs met anonymously from both parents and school.”

 

Sometimes it’s the people you expect the least that need the most help.

 

What type of car do we need?

Currently we have a 1994 Toyota Rav 4. We have been advised by the servicing company that we really should give it back as it is costing too much. While we really could buy 298 any old car, I would really love to see them have a car that is worth having. I would like to purchase them a car that is safe, reliable and comfortable. Overall, a vehicle that staff and patients alike would enjoy travelling in and be proud to use. Generally, organisations like 298 that fly under the radar seem to get the hand-me-downs. I would like to see us change this. The reason why 298 has not purchased themselves a new car is because we put all of our funding straight back into hours for our patients.

I would like to aim to purchase 298:

• A 2018/2019 model car
• From a dealer
  • If we purchase a car privately or from a Rotarian, there is no one to go back to if something goes wrong. We are covered purchasing through a dealer. I would also like to provide a dealership with the opportunity to also sponsor the car.
• Japanese make
  • Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Honda etc.
• Low KM’s
• Servicing deal or warranty
• 5 Star safety rating
• Petrol
  • Staff at 298 have commented that because they drive so far out (Kaiapoi, Darfield and even further) an EV would not be suitable
• Something really nice for them to enjoy

Their dream car would be a Toyota Corolla. I am in communications with a few different Toyota dealerships to see if they would be interested in joining in on this initiative.

Why Rotary?

I could easily get the car sponsored by other funders, however I really want to give Rotary an opportunity to be a participant in something that is nationally recognised. 298 Youth Health is a massive part of the Youth Hub, with Dame Sue Bagshaw leading both organisations.

 

The Youth Hub is a $20,000,000 youth initiative, and having our name tied to it (Rotary) is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime. This is a chance to show that Rotary is genuinely engaging in supporting young people outside of our own programmes.

 

I am a passionate member of Rotary and I truly believe in the power that an organisation like us can have in changing a young person’s life. This is again why I would love to see our name tied to another organisation who is changing the world, under the radar on a daily basis.

 

The Approach

 

I would love to organise a District Grant to purchase 298 a vehicle. The benefits of this would be mutual, with Rotary club signwriting on the car. Each club would have their name on the vehicle with the Rotary wheel. I am going to visit every single club in greater Christchurch to get them on board.

 

I am aiming to raise $20,000 for a car. Through my research I have found that most cars within the bracket that I am looking at (year, make, kms etc) are around $20,000 if not slightly higher. If I face a shortfall from Rotary, I will have it topped up by others.

 

Conclusion

 

I hope that this proposal has given you some insight into what 298 Youth Health does and my passion for their work. This partnership would be an incredibly beneficial venture for both organisations and I would love to see it happen.

 

I see this project as a true legacy for Rotary in Canterbury.

 

Paige Sullivan