Southland District Mayor Rob Scott will don a pair of pink gumboots for Gumboot Friday tomorrow in support of the I Am Hope organisation that has been delivering immediate free counselling to young Kiwis in need since 2019.
"There’s a real synergy between the two organisations [Gumboot Friday and I Am Hope] and it’s great that they’re actually working together, for our very important youth," Mr Scott said.
"I was talking to Ritchie Barnett the other day and he said, ‘you’ll have to get some gumboots’ and I said, ‘gumboots don’t stick out in Southland’.
"Every second person wears gumboots so I’ll have to get pink ones to stand out," he said.
"All of the money goes straight on to getting counselling for youth."
Gumboot Friday had been around for a while now and was an important initiative because it tied in with the Mayor’s TaskForce for Jobs, he said.
"It’s that same age group that we’re covering — the 16 to 25-year-olds — and there’s a real link with that mental health piece."
Mr Scott believed the same age group that was identified through the I Am Hope project was also a similar age group to those targeted by the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs, and it was important that Southlanders "looked after" their youth.
"They’re our future, and part of this Mayor’s TaskForce for Jobs; is enabling and empowering those youth to get into work, and mental health is a key factor in some of that as well."
The Mayors Taskforce for Jobs has partnered with the Ministry of Social Development to lead the Community Employment Programme. This programme placed young people who were not in education, employment or training, or people living with disabilities and other disadvantaged people, into work.
