Encouraging positive community wellbeing and resilience
Community and Public Health provides population health services and information. We are unable to work with individuals regarding their health issues.
Everyone has mental health and within this, everyone is susceptible to mental distress and or mental illness at times.
Distress, disorder or illness should be seen as subsets of a person’s capacity for mental health and it is important not to define those of us with lived experience of mental illness by our diagnosis.
The greater your mental health, the greater your resilience, and the greater your:
- ability to cope or to adapt and recover from adversity such as illness or distress; and
- capacity to experience and enjoy a fulfilled, meaningful and satisfying life.
There are things we can do to grow our wellbeing, and that of those around us – regardless of whether or not we have lived experience of mental distress or illness.
Community and Public Health seeks to:
- Include mental health and wellbeing in all Community and Public Health programmes and projects.
- Increase community awareness on gaining or maintaining mental wellbeing.
- Work with health and other sectors (such as Education and Councils) to recognise determinants of mental health and wellbeing and to develop mental health promoting practices.
- Engage with the Canterbury, South Canterbury and West Coast communities in promoting mental health and wellbeing.
- Work with South Canterbury and West Coast youth around mental wellbeing, especially resiliency and social inclusion.
- Work with Canterbury and South Canterbury workplaces to support optimal health for their staff, including mental wellbeing.
- Provide information to the public on both maintaining mental health, and coping with mental illness.
- Provide information to the public on programmes including the Like Minds Like Mine antidiscrimination campaign, and depression awareness projects such as Depression: There is a way through it.
- Support the development of the Community in Mind strategy in greater Christchurch.
- Collect and collate reliable evidence relating to mental health and wellbeing, including:
We work together to increase our communities’ mental resilience and reduce their risks of mental illness.
- Find out the latest facts and statistics on mental distress and illness in New Zealand (Mental Health Foundation 2022).
- Find out the latest facts and statistics on wellbeing in New Zealand (Statistics NZ).
World First All Right? Campaign
All Right? was designed to help us think about our mental health and wellbeing. The campaign was about helping people realise that they were not alone, encouraging them to connect with others, and supporting them to boost their wellbeing.
Ultimately, All Right? was about starting and resourcing a community conversation about wellbeing.
All Right? was originally a Healthy Christchurch social marketing project that was led by the Mental Health Foundation and the Canterbury District Health Board. The project finished in July 2022.
- Download or order All Right? resources from the Community Health Information Centre.
- Download or find out about the All Right? app.
- Download Sparklers wellbeing activities for children – for use by teachers and educators.
- Read the recent evaluation of Sparklers (Ministries of Education and Health 2022).
- Learn how to plan and run effective wellbeing initiatives on the He Waka Ora website.
Documents
Resources for the Public
- Tihei Mauri Ora – Supporting whānau through suicidal distress (Mental Health Foundation NZ).
- Five Ways to Wellbeing: A best practice guide (Mental Health Foundation NZ).
Reference Publications
- Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy 2024-2027 (NZ Government).
- Joint Briefing to the Incoming Minister for Mental Health 2023 (Ministry of Health).
- Assessing the Impact of Screen Time on Children’s Language, Educational Ability, and Social Functioning from Infancy to Age 8 (University of Canterbury 2023).
- Supporting wellbeing after a crisis: Summary report (Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 2023).
- Media reporting of COVID-19 and mental health and wellbeing (Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 2022).
- All of Government Pacific Wellbeing Strategy (Ministry for Pacific Peoples 2022).
- Digital tools for mental health and wellbeing (Health Promotion Agency 2022).
- Access and Choice Programme: Report on the first two years (Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 2021).
- What Makes a Good Life for Tamariki and Rangatahi Māori? (Oranga Tamariki and the Children’s Commissioner 2021).
- Environmental stewardship and well-being (Ministry for the Environment and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research 2021).
- Getting it right: Children’s rights in the COVID-19 response (Children’s Convention Monitoring Group 2021).
- Mā Te Rongo Ake/ Through Listening and Hearing – Progress report on the Government response to He Ara Oranga (Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 2021).
- COVID-19 Psychosocial and Mental Wellbeing Plan: Revised December 2020 (Ministry of Health).
- Protecting and promoting mental wellbeing: Beyond COVID-19 (Koi Tū 2020).
- Mental health and wellbeing year in review (Ministry of Health 2020).
- The impact of multiple disadvantage on subjective wellbeing: New Zealand families (Kōtātā Insight 2019).
- Every Life Matters/ He Tapu te Oranga o ia Tangata: Suicide Prevention Strategy 2019–2029 and Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2019–2024 for Aotearoa New Zealand (Ministry of Health)
- What make a good life? Children and young people’s views on wellbeing (Oranga Tamariki and the Children’s Commissioner 2019).
- Ministry of Health response to recommendations from the Goverment Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction.
- He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction – Chapter 7: Wellbeing, promotion and prevention (2018).
- Social determinants of mental health (World Health Organisation 2014).
- Building resilient communities: Making every contact count for public mental health (UK Mental Health Foundation 2013).
- Mental Capital and Wellbeing: Making the most of ourselves in the 21st century (Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project – UK 2008).
Downloads
Download or order resources from the Community Health Information Centre.
- What Helps me when I’m Stressed.
- Wellbeing tips for managing financial stress (MHF and All Sorts).
- Stress and how to manage it (MHF).
Links
- Health New Zealand.
- Mental Health Foundation.
- Working Well (Mental Health Foundation).
- Mental Health Education and Resource Centre.
- Mental Health Advocacy and Peer Support (MHAPS).
- Nōku te Ao: Like Minds – was Like Minds Like Mine.
- Depression: There is a way through it.
- Te Pou o Te Whakaaro Nui.
- Le Va.
- Voices of Hope.
- VicHealth (Australia).
- Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life (United States).
- World Economic Forum.
Contact your local office for further information:
CANTERBURY, MID CANTERBURY AND CHATHAM ISLANDS
Ph: +64 3 364 1777
SOUTH CANTERBURY
Ph: +64 3 687 2600
WEST COAST
Ph: +64 3 768 1160
For additional information, contact:
Psychiatric Emergency Line
0800 920 092
Depression Helpline
0800 111 757
LifeLine
0800 LifeLine
0800 543 354
Digital tools to make family violence support widely available
“Family violence is a scourge on our society and violent behaviour of any kind is absolutely unacceptable. We are taking the important steps to modernise access and better connect New Zealanders experiencing family violence to the services that can support them,” Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.
“Bringing more support online will make taking those first steps to get support more accessible, and work towards our goal of eliminating family violence in Aotearoa,” she said.
The new digital tools include a centralised 24/7 phone and online-chat support service, a dedicated website with interactive resources for those seeking help, and a new online space specifically driving behaviour change for those who may use violence.
“This suite of digital tools will mean support is more accessible to those who need it, wherever they are, and whenever they need it,” said Priyanca Radhakrishnan.
- The new Are You OK? website focuses completely on supporting family violence victims/ survivors. It features a new Check it Out relationship assessment tool and a Service Finder tool to help users identify the most relevant support and where to access it.
- In Your Hands provides information and support people wanting to drive behaviour change by those who may use violence and their support networks.
Wellbeing and resilience for farmers and rural communities
Looking after yourself is as important as looking after your farm.
- Hear or read true life stories of farmers and their families dealing with depression.
- Find out about FarmStrong that gives farmers the skills and resources to live well and farm well.
Information Sheets on Mental Health and Wellbeing Topics
Helpful information is available from the following websites:
- Mental Health Foundation.
- The Black Dog Institute (Australia).
- Beyond Blue (Australia).
- Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK).
A variety of issues are covered including grief and bereavement, sleeping well, self-care, and reducing drugs and alcohol.
Five Ways to Wellbeing are now available as posters in migrant languages.