Lower Hutt Crisis Recovery Café Opens in New Zealand: Peer-Led Support Without Referral, From October 30
New Zealand's Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced in Lower Hutt, in the Wellington region, on October 28 that a new Crisis Recovery Café, Te Kāhua Ora, has officially opened, giving people who need mental health or addiction support another place to go. The café will open to the public on Friday, October 30, initially operating from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday, with hours to be reviewed against community needs.
'The new Café, Te Kāhua Ora, will provide a safe, welcoming place where people can talk to someone who understands what they are going through and get the support they need,' Doocey said. 'We know a busy ED is not always the best environment for someone experiencing mental distress. The new café will give people another place to go, without needing a referral, where they can access support from people with their own lived experience, including advocacy and help connecting with other services if needed.' He said peer-led support being rolled out across the country has proved a gamechanger, and that some of the best solutions already exist within grassroots organisations and simply need backing.
The café will be delivered by Te Paepae Ārahi Trust, which has more than 30 years' experience supporting people across the Hutt Valley and wider Wellington region, working alongside Kites Trust, which already delivers the peer support service in Wellington Hospital's emergency department. Peer support specialists will also be introduced in Hutt Hospital's emergency department, with that service expected to be operating by early 2027.
Crisis Recovery Cafés are being rolled out across New Zealand as part of the government's work to deliver faster access to support, more frontline workers and a better crisis response.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 下哈特市的 Hutt 休闲场。Atlebron 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Hutt Recreation Ground in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Photo by Atlebron, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
