Funding close to the heart
The Nikau Wairarapa Fund pledges first grant to support families through mental health challenges.
When Yellow Brick Road Wairarapa Communications Manager, Belinda Wells walked into a business conference a year ago, she had to explain who she worked for, but not why they do what they do. "Without fail, everyone I talked to had either experienced mental health challenges or had been in a support role for a friend or family member," says Belinda. "Every single person in that room understood the need for a service supporting people with family members having a tough time."
That’s what Yellow Brick Road does. "Our purpose is to support families of people experiencing mental health challenges – the 'unsung heroes'," says Belinda, "family members can be absolutely instrumental in helping someone on their road to recovery. But, more often than not, they don't know how. They feel lost, seriously alone and often, really desperate."
Flexible support
Reflecting the varying circumstances that families may be facing, Yellow Brick Road's service offering is flexible and diverse. Belinda says, "We provide services at all points of the mental health continuum, working in prevention, early intervention and more acute situations to address the colossal demand that is close to overwhelming New Zealand’s mental health services."
This includes offering a range of support groups, advocacy to navigate the Mental Health Act and support to access key mental health services. "We want to navigate families to wellbeing, and want to provide them with the tools to continue their journeys equipped and confident to support their loved ones."
Crucial Funding
For Yellow Brick Road, sound data management is crucial to delivering effective services. "There is a lack of robust data across the sector," says Belinda, "it's vital that we have systems to keep accurate data records so our support workers can create the best outcomes for our clients and to give us an accurate picture of the nature and scale of the families we're supporting." Nikau Foundation was delighted to support, providing a $5,000 grant courtesy of the Richard and Doreen Evans Charitable Trust and the Nikau Wairarapa Fund (its first-ever grant) to fund Customer Relationship Management software.
Support for Yellow Brick Road is particularly poignant for the Nikau Wairarapa Fund as one of its inaugural donations came from local resident, Sally Adams who tragically lost her brother to mental illness in 2009. "I wanted to do something positive to honour my brother. Life can be tough, it is so important that help is accessible to everyone, at times of need,” says Sally.
Nikau Wairarapa Chair, Lucy McLaren says, "we are delighted to be partnering with Yellow Brick Road with the first grant from the Wairarapa Fund. Helping a family member through mental illness can often be overwhelming and isolating. For many, it is a struggle to know what help is available to them. We hope this grant will provide vital support, signposting to services and someone to talk to for local families."
