Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey made the announcement at the Otago Mental Health Support Trust rooms in Princes St yesterday.
Otago Mental Health Support Trust leader Craig de Beer said the proposed sites and the concept came after much deliberation.
‘‘We specifically looked outside of the CBD and the two very obvious places were North East Valley and South Dunedin, and the approach that was considered at the time was to move into existing community hubs where people are already familiar with and comfortable with accessing and entering.
‘‘That's given us the sense of the two spaces, which there's less barriers, there's fewer obstacles for people to access the system and the service in those two communities.’’The service will operate across the two sites for 16 hours a week.
The first night of seeing people in the cafe will be at the North East Valley site this Saturday from 5.30pm-10pm.
Mr de Beer said the idea was to have a less ‘‘pressurised’’ environment than many mental health crisis centres.
‘‘Sitting in a brightly lit, busy emergency department is not the best environment to be in when in mental distress.’’
The locations were chosen because of their existing access to wraparound support and peer-led care, Mr de Beer said.
In particular, the high student population in North East Valley was a factor, as were the population demographics of South Dunedin.
Mr Doocey said he was looking forward to seeing the Crisis Cafe in action.
‘‘As mental health minister, I've always been of the view that we need to really back our frontline NGO and community services that are delivering very effective mental health and addiction support in their communities.
‘‘Since becoming New Zealand's first mental health minister, I was always focused on how we could get more money out of Wellington to the frontline.
‘‘Compared to our statutory Health New Zealand [Te Whatu Ora] services, they're more nimble, they're more responsive and flexible to meet people's needs.’’
Mr de Beer said they expected 20 to 25 visitors a week.
The North East Valley site will be operating 5.30pm-10pm on Saturdays and Tuesdays from April 28.
The South Dunedin site is scheduled to open in the second week of May and will be open Tuesday and Saturdays from 5.30pm-10pm.
‘‘So, not only is it giving these people a choice to come to a non-clinical space that they can feel supported by people who have been through their journey before, but also relieves some pressure on our very busy emergency departments around the country,’’ Mr Doocey said.
