Southland has led the nation with the number of schools which had adopted the Sir John Kirwan Foundation’s mental health model.
In October 2022, the foundation received a $150,000 grant from the ILT and ILT Foundation as part of a new joint initiative between the Sir John Kirwan (Mitey) Foundation, the Southland Express and ILT to promote and expand the Mitey programme into primary schools throughout Invercargill and Southland.
The province has influenced schools in the North Island to implement it into their schools based on the Southland model.
Southland was the first province outside Auckland to adopt Mitey.
It had 19 schools in various phases, but Mrs Brown expected by the end of this year, 28 Southland schools would be using the mental health model.
"Waverley Park, Otatara, St Thomas Winton and Limehills are all heading into their third year and are well on their way of implementing mental health into their schools.
"As a result, we’ve gone into Hawke’s Bay in term three last year and Wellington have just started in term one of this year.
"There’s interest being shown all the time in other regions, so it’s just a matter of getting that elusive funding to keep it going."
Mrs Brown was amazed how the Southland model had impacted the nation.
"We just have to keep doing the good work."
The ILT had also granted further funds in the past year to allow Mitey to continue expanding, Mrs Brown said.
"It’s amazing support from people like the ILT and Southland Community Trust.
"Without that generous funding, it wouldn’t keep the momentum going.
"The schools have been amazing too with they way they’ve taken it on board.
Southland was quite unique, because principals all wanted to support each other without being competitive, she said.
"They see the benefits of something like Mitey and the good news just gets spread around."
The model was free to any school that wanted to start it as it was funded via community funding agencies and corporate sponsorship.
Ten school representatives would meet next month at a "Mitey Lab" to share what they have been doing in the past year and where keynote speaker Prof Melinda Webber would be speaking about the Mana Model.
Mrs Brown hoped the foundation’s funders would also be able to attend the event where they would also hear from the schools who were in their third year.
- By Toni McDonald
