Suicide prevention centre relocated

Staff and volunteers at the Hope Centre-Te Whare Tūmanako will have room to breathe and privacy, as they work with people suffering mental distress.

Over the summer holiday period, the Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust team packed up their headquarters at Albion Lane for the move around the corner to much bigger premises in a historic building at 63 Hanover St.

The new Hope Centre was packed to the rafters during the official opening yesterday, which started with a whakawātea (blessing) conducted by Mauraka Edwards representing the Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki rūnaka.

Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust chairwoman Carolyn McMillan said, from humble beginnings in July 2014, when everything was stored in a garage, to being able to have a space that was triple the size of their former premises was welcomed.

The trust was more important than ever as more people were in mental distress, crisis or requiring support, she said.

Before cutting a ribbon to declare the premises officially open, Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich said the need for peer support was growing and since its formation the trust had made giant strides in providing bereavement support as well as raising awareness, reducing stigma and promoting suicide prevention strategies.

Hope Centre co-managers Corinda Taylor and Clare Curran were pleased and relieved to have moved to the new site, saying a huge increase in demand for peer support had put pressure on space at the former premises in Albion Lane.

The new space at 63 Hanover St was ideally located near to Dunedin Hospital, and was much larger - across two levels, with separate rooms for reception, group meetings and one-on-one sessions with people.

"It really is amazing. We consider ourselves extremely lucky," Ms Curran said.

Ms Taylor said the Hope Centre had seen a 62% increase in demand for peer support for people suffering mental distress in the past nine months, which made the move essential.

"Moving to a bigger space means the Hope Centre will be able to provide a service that can cope with the growing number of people who need our help," she said.

The move had been made possible with the help of the trust’s community, and supportive businesses such as My Mate John’s Furniture Warehouse, which provided furniture and funds; Active Electro Dunedin Ltd, which set up the security system and assembled desks.

University of Otago Property Services, Otago Youth Wellness Trust, and Able Minds Charitable Trust had all stepped up to help.

Local charity baking group, The Good Bitches, continued to keep the Hope Centre team supplied with delicious cakes and baked goods.

"It has just been wonderful," she said.

Ms Curran said the Hope Centre’s objective was to open its Crisis Cafe more days a week into the evenings to ensure people in crisis were well supported in a non-clinical environment.

"We know there is more demand for a safe, supportive space as an alternative to the Emergency Psychiatric Service (EPS) for people suffering a crisis.

"We now have the space to provide more support. When our funding allows, we would like to provide a crisis service on more nights of the week," she said.

The trust recently had an intake of more peer support volunteers, who would be going through training in March, and would help expand the centre’s staffing.

"We want people to know that we are here, our service is free, and we can provide peer support for people in mental distress."

Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust is completely reliant on grants and donations, and will need ongoing support to afford the increased rent and overheads on the new premises.

People who wish to support the Hope Centre with donations can visit www.lifematters.org.nz or check out The Good Registry at thegoodregistry.com

brenda.harwood@thestar.co.nz