The Māia Health Foundation has received a $1 million donation to go towards a new child and youth mental health outpatient facility in Christchurch. Photo / Supplied
The Māia Health Foundation has received a $1 million donation to go towards a new child and youth mental health outpatient facility in Christchurch.
It was one of the most significant grants the New Zealand Community Trust has given.
The foundation is raising $6 million for the facility, which will support people up to the age of 18.
Chairman Garth Gallaway said the $1 million grant is a major step forward for the project.
"Having an organisation like NZCT demonstrate such leadership through a gift of this significance has added significant mana to our project.
"Most importantly, it will provide hope and inspiration to the mental health staff who battle outdated buildings every day to support and care for our community's most vulnerable. It's a phenomenal gift to the people of Canterbury and the broader region," he said.
Now the foundation is more than halfway towards its goal with $3.15 million either committed to the project or already in the bank.
"We're on our way to taking our child and youth mental health outpatient services from good to great."
New Zealand Community Trust distributes around $44m each year with much of it going to youth, sports, health, arts and education.
NZCT chairman Alan Isaac said when they saw the statistics about the demand for mental health services in Canterbury and heard about the current conditions the region's young people are treated in, they knew a grant was the right thing to do.
"Canterbury has been through so much in the last decade and the impact of that on the region's young people is clear.
"We view this grant to Māia Health Foundation as a long-term investment in the health of Canterbury's and more broadly the South Island's most important asset; its children, young people and their families," he said.
Māia is working alongside the Canterbury District Health Board to develop the new facility, which will replace current facilities based at The Princess Margaret Hospital and Hillmorton campus.
Gallaway said the current facilities are old, run-down, and outdated and do not support modern treatment methods.
In 2019 the Government turned down a request to fund a new outpatient facility, he said.
It will be located at the former Canterbury Linen Services building, on the outskirts of the Hillmorton campus.
Gallaway said for the first time they can share with the public how transformational the new facility will be.
"The new facility resembles nothing of the old, broken buildings our young people are currently treated in. It's warm, welcoming with age-appropriate spaces and curated outdoor spaces that promote healing and wellness."
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