Mental Health Services Need Māori Partnership to Be Improved

Nothing will change nor improve in mental health services without authentic Māori leadership and partnership

9th August 2017 - Te Huarahi o te Kete Pounamu Māori an independent voice of Māori with lived experience of mental illness and mental health services and Te Rau Matatini are facilitating meaningful discussions in the pursuit of optimum health outcomes for Māori.

Te Huarahi o te Kete Pounamu provides Māori with lived experience of mental illness and mental health services an independent voice at a national level to improve health services and Māori health outcomes

Publically and politically much has been in the media about the issues in mental health services, and the challenges for Māori. Te Huarahi o te Kete Pounamu questions who is deciding on methods, systems and outcomes to improve mental health services when there is minimum Māori participation and leadership in the design and development phases?

Te Huarahi o te Kete Pounamu provide decades of diverse lived experiences with whānau, mental health services and life. It is their belief through lived experiences Māori will have the solutions to improve mental health services, but if they are not included at the beginning of finding solutions then the opportunities to partner with Māori in a mana enhancing manner will not provide the broader perspectives and authentic involvement of Māori. And there will be little difference to what is already being provided in mainstream constructs. Whilst investment, strategies and models are being sought to improve mental health services, and people draw from overseas models there will continue to be little depth of understanding of tangata whenua, let alone contribute to Māori led programmes and services that will contribute to the recovery and wellbeing for Māori.

ENDS

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