Mr Little was at Adventure Development Ltd (ADL) in Cromwell — a not-for-profit providing accessible youth wellbeing, mental health, and substance misuse services — where he heard first-hand accounts of the challenges and pressures young people faced.
Three Wanaka teenagers — Grace Gillies (17), Sienna Jones (16) and Emma Arthur (17) — shared their experience of reaching out for help with Mr Little.
An extensive wait to get support was a common thread, as well as a lack of resources and support in schools.
"The problem definitely was the waiting list," one teenager said.
"I feel like if you’re reaching out and you need help you should be able to get it immediately, you shouldn’t have to wait so long to get help."
"The education we’re getting in our schools isn’t enough — we’re not educating on consent well enough, mental health and how it affects so many other social categories," another said.
All three teenaged shared the positive experiences they had had with ADL.
"They talk to me like a friend, not a client, and that made me feel really safe and really comfortable."
"You’re just normal, don’t have a stigma of there’s something wrong with you."
Mr Little said the teenagers’ experiences lined up with those he had heard from others throughout the country.
"[It was] really powerful hearing those young women," he said.
"They want to take control of their lives and their issues, but the sort of help they need to do that is not what’s available in schools.
"Really, their comment is what they’re being provided in schools is less than helpful."
Mr Little’s visit to ADL was to mark more than half a million mental health support sessions being delivered through the Government’s flagship primary mental health and addiction programme Access and Choice — something ADL was part of.
A key aspect of the Access and Choice programme was its approach to mental health, taking support into the community, he said.
"You don’t have to travel to Dunedin, Christchurch Wellington or Auckland. It’s taking front line mental health services right out to the community, to GP practices and places like ADL."
ADL chief executive Clive McArthur said the increased support had enabled the organisation to scale up the size of its team and reduce wait times for young people seeking help.
Previously wait times had been up to 15 weeks but were now reduced to between four to six in some areas.
