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Read He Ara Oranga : Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction released on 4 December here.

Emerge Aotearoa hosts 13th Biennial Asia Pacific Mental Health and Addiction Conference

Nō mātou o Emerge Aotearoa te whiwhi, nō mātou te hōnore ki te whakatū i te Hui-a-Ao tekau mātoru (13th) o Asia Paciﬁc Mental Health i Aotearoa a te tau 2018.

Emerge Aotearoa under the auspices of the Richmond Fellowship Asia Paciﬁc (AsPac) Forum and in partnership with key New Zealand organisations is delighted to have hosted the:

The two-day conference, themed “Healthy Futures: Inspiration, Inclusion and Integration”, brought together a diverse collective of international and indigenous thought leaders and delegates. Over 270 delegates came together from the mental health, addiction, housing, corrections and other social sectors to discover home-grown and international innovations that will support Aotearoa’s response to the distress experienced by so many in our communities.

International keynote speakers included Australia’s first indigenous doctor, Professor Helen Milroy and member of the recent Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse as well as Yale University and Founders of ‘Citizenship and the Citizens Project’ Professor Michael Rowe and Patty Benedict, a member of the Abenaki Nation of the Odanak reservation in Canada.

The Citizenship and the Citizens Project is an initiative that recognises the importance of ensuring citizenship and social inclusion for people who continue to be marginalised, particularly people with mental health and addiction challenges, people who are homeless and/or people re-entering society after time in correctional facilities. It is about recognising the importance of addressing the basic needs in people’s lives such as housing, work, family, community and safety so they can be engaged citizens and live well.

Professor Milroy has developed and implemented multiple national approaches for the provision of culturally aware health services. As a member of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, she advocated for compassionate processes that allow people to disclose abuse in a way that is healing. Professor Rowe has dedicated his work to focus on social inclusion, and founded the world-leading Citizenship Project that has supported social equity for 17 years

We were also honoured to hear from several home-grown keynotes such as Josiah Tualamali'i who spoke about culture, engagement and identity, Fiona Trevelyan who talked about 'growing stronger, together – a healthy future for all' and Shreya Rao who addressed the issue of 'what happens when a youth consumer advocate grows up?'.

We welcomed 86 speakers in total, who presented some of the most innovative approaches to bettering services.

Links to presentations from the conference can be found below.

Day One - Wednesday 31 October:

Barbara Disley - Welcome

Helen Milroy - In 1978 a little boy started crying....In 2014, he still is.

Josiah Tualamali'i - Keynote

Lisa Philips - How 'well' are addiction practitioners in NZ?

Katie Pui-Fan - Peer support service: A critical stepping stone to recovery based practice in Hong Kong

Manu Sione & Will Gonzales - The value of authentic cultural change

Kimina Andersen & Kingsley Bedwell - Closing the gap or widening the problem?

Emma Wood & Caro Swanson - Enhancing connection through values-informed practice

Carla na Nagara - Breaking the mould of suicide investigation