Jazz Thornton, who left home at 16 after enduring an abusive childhood, describes her time in New Zealand's mental health system as nothing short of "horrific". Photo / Supplied
Jazz Thornton, who left home at 16 after enduring an abusive childhood, describes her time in New Zealand's mental health system as nothing short of "horrific". Photo / Supplied
• WARNING: This content may be triggering for some people
Jazz Thornton is the brave New Zealand woman who has become an inspiring film-maker, Dancing With The Stars competitor and a leading light in New Zealand's collective effort to improve our mental health statistics. For the Herald series, Great Minds, she discusses the heartbreaking things she's seen in our schools and why we should have been ready for the mental health fallout from Covid, but we're not.
Jazz Thornton spends a fair bit of time in New Zealand schools. Through Voices of Hope - her co-founded non-profit organisation that creates content about mental health issues to provoke positive change - she tours classrooms to talk to our young people.
She tells the Herald what she sees from students as young as 11, while "heartbreaking", no longer shocks her.
"You have kids that have blades in the back of their phone cases and suicide notes in their backpacks," Thornton, 27, says.
"Every time that it happens it's heartbreaking," says Jazz Thornton of the school kids, some as young as 11, who show her suicide notes in their back packs. Photo / Getty Images
"They'll come up and give them to you afterwards and I guess they find hope in that moment after we've been talking.
"Every time that it happens it's heartbreaking, because you're seeing it right in front of you. The unfortunate thing is it's not shocking anymore because I'm so used to it. It'll be anywhere from the age of 11 and up."
For parents hesitant to discuss suicide with their kids, Thornton believes many of them already know more than Mum and Dad realise.
"I know there's a lot around not knowing when to talk about it because you don't want to plant the idea, but they know. And they know how. I think that's what shocks me the most. The number of times you figure out that kids know how to get access to things."
Thornton has blazed a trail with films and series that tell young people's stories, as well as her own, about their experiences with suicide. She's written books that include practical guides to improving mental wellbeing and presented a TED talk on how she learned to fight against her suicidal tendencies.
And while she says she's impressed by how much Kiwis have opened up to having conversations about mental health, "in comparison, the services haven't changed a lot".
For example, Thornton says when she's approached by students with suicide notes, her first port of call is the school's counsellor - if they have one.
"Counsellors should be mandatory in all schools. It's not at the moment. Some schools in New Zealand don't have counsellors."
It's one of many shortcomings Thornton sees in the country's mental health services, from which she first sought help as a teen.
Having left home at 16 after enduring an abusive childhood, she describes her time in the system as nothing short of "horrific".
"My personal experience with the mental health system was horrific. Because I had been doing a lot of my later teenage years by myself, I fell into this weird category where, if I had attempted to take my life between the ages of 16 and 18, which I did, they didn't admit me into the hospital because I didn't have anyone to sign on as my next of kin or a person who would be responsible for me afterwards."
Jazz Thornton and partner Brad Coleman on DWTS. Photo / Supplied
She says this means there's a group of people in New Zealand who, if they're homeless or don't have anyone to turn to, "are just completely missing any form of help. And I fell into that category."
Despite attempting suicide multiple times since the age of 12, it wasn't until Thornton turned 18 that she was admitted into a ward "to keep me safe".
She says in her experience there were always "massive holds" on crisis lines too.
"I've had horrific times with crisis teams which are overworked and underpaid. I do think that frontline support is where we're lacking."
Thornton foresees that it's going to take "years and years to reform our mental health system but we just need the people up front to admit that rather than say, 'we're going to do all these things'."
And as the country recovers from two years of lockdowns and the stress and uncertainty brought about by the Covid pandemic, she's seeing an increase in people reaching out for help with their mental health.
"Especially around young people, there's a massive increase. But I think we do have to be aware that the younger generation has been reaching out for a while. They've been talking about mental health for a long time.
"I would be inclined to say Covid has 100 per cent created a lot of mental health issues. But it's also revealed a lot of stuff that's already there.
"I think a lot of the older generation is almost using it as, 'Oh, this is why we now have mental health issues.' But we had them before. We just didn't speak out about it. We're seeing an increase. But we should have been prepared for it, because New Zealand has been dealing with the highest youth suicide stats in the OECD for a long time. This isn't new. We should have been ready, but we weren't."
She highlights some positive initiatives instigated by the current Government, such as putting the HIPS (Health improvement practitioners) in GP clinics and is pleased to see mental health nurse training has become free.
Ultimately, says Thornton, "It's really important to know, especially for people that are struggling, that as a country, we are taking it seriously. That they do matter and everything you're struggling with matters and even though it might not feel like there is a lot of change happening. System-wise, behind the scenes, things are slowly starting to chug and there will always be people fighting for you. There are people that are moving and trying to shake things up."
Changes in our mental health system
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health points to the Government being into "the third year of a five-year programme of work to increase access to and choice of mental health and addiction support".
What this means in terms of support on te ground is an additional "900 new frontline mental health and addiction workers who provide free support to thousands of New Zealanders every month."
They say the scale of the work "takes time" and is "being driven by the Government's 2019 budget investment of $1.9 billion.
"There has been significant investment in online self-help tools and telehealth services (like 1737), so New Zealanders can access support at any time on their terms."
Most recently, the 2022 Budget includes another $100 million "of targeted investment to increasing the availability and choice of specialist services and reducing waiting times for those with the highest needs".
Five Things
Thornton has shared with the Herald a technique for anyone who finds themselves experiencing heightened anxiety senses, to help "bring you back into the present."
Name the following:
• Five things you can see • Four things you can touch • Three things you can hear • Two things you can smell • One thing you can taste
Where to get help: • Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7) • Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7) • Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 (available 24/7) • Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7) • Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (12pm to 11pm) • Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7) • Anxiety helpline: 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY) (available 24/7) • Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155 If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
