October 02, 2015
Rangatahi wananga to prevent suicide
Rangatahi from around the motu are gathering at Ratana Pa to develop tools and strategies to prevent suicide.
Kiritahi Firmin from Whanganui’s Kimiora Trust says delegates from the region who went to the Turamarama ki te Ora conference in Rotorua earlier this year felt there was not enough input from young people in the development of solutions.
They responded by calling their own hui, He Tirohanga Whakamuai: A Pathway Forward.
"Suicide does not discriminate at all. All of us who have been affected by suicide are over it. We need to find a community based, indigneous based, simplistic process a rongoa to help save the lives of our people and we've got to do it now," Ms Firmin says.
The hui will look at a range of strategies, including arts, physical exercise, digital storytelling, and learning to identify the signs people may be considering suicide.
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