Direction set to improve crisis responses
Every day as many as one hundred people connect with crisis services throughout the country. What support each of these people can access, very much depends on where they live.
People experiencing crisis in one area might have the choice to connect with a crisis café, peer support, or a mobile crisis team. People in another area might face a five-minute wait on a crisis helpline (with some giving up waiting), with a trip to a busy emergency department as the only option.
At the same we highlighted responses that are already working and new initiatives that are underway in parts of the country that could be scaled up nationwide. From peer support to kaupapa Māori services, publicly funded services across the country are already demonstrating what good crisis responses look like.
This is why Te Hiringa Mahara has called for a nationally cohesive approach to crisis responses to be developed by June 2027, and for some shorter-term changes including nationwide 24/7 phone-based crisis support to be made by June 2026.
A nationally cohesive approach
A nationally cohesive approach must build on what is already working and new initiatives are underway. Peer-led acute alternatives and kaupapa Māori services have proved their value but are only available in some areas. We must strengthen the health led approach to crisis, with 24/7 access to services that are culturally safe, trauma-informed and uphold human rights. There must be a strong role for lived experience and cultural workforces at all levels.
Welcome investment
We welcome the recent announcement by the Minister for Mental Health of a $61.6 million investment and acknowledge work underway to increase access to peers in ED, acute alternatives, crisis cafes and co-response teams. We need to keep up the momentum through sustained leadership and cross-party support.
Our report calls for a national cohesive system where people can access appropriate, holistic and timely crisis support where and when they need it. The development of this approach will map out what structures, processes and resources needed to achieve the goal of everyone across Aotearoa New Zealand having someone to call, someone to respond and somewhere safe and welcoming to go.
We have already waited too long for change – now is the time to take action.
Read the full report.
