The first crisis recovery café in the South Island has officially opened today.
Crisis Café Mana, designed to support people in mental distress, is the third of its kind in the country. Crisis cafés are currently operating in Auckland, New Plymouth, and Wellington.
The Christchurch café – delivered by local providers Purapura Whetu, Odyssey House Trust and the Stepping Stone Trust – will be staffed by people on their own mental health journeys.
"Lived experience needs to be a key part of people’s recovery and to sell that idea in the clinical environment has been challenging," Odyssey House peer support worker Marc Beecroft told 1News.
Among them is Purapura Whetu operations manager Maree Hansen, a former in-patient at Hillmorton Hospital.
"We're just going to be able to care for people at exactly where they're at and no judgement 'cause we've all been there," she said.
Emergency department peer supporter Kelly Pope said having a similar space "would have made a huge difference in my life".
In a statement announcing the café's opening, Health Minister Matt Doocey said people wouldn't need a referral to visit.
"They can simply show up to the café and receive support when they need it."
With the finishing touches of the kitchen still underway, the café will be ready to welcome people through its doors from next month.
'People aren't doing things on their own'
The CEO of Purapura Whetu Trust, Karaitiana Tickell, said it "won't be uncommon" for staff to provide support for people seeking further help from the emergency department.
"We can make that a more comfortable and supportive environment, so people aren't doing things on their own," he said.
The concept has proven popular in the capital, with a thousand people coming through the doors of the Wellington café since it opened 14 months ago.
Most of the people visiting the café "are feeling suicidal or who are feeling really anxious, but don't quite meet that threshold for immediate risk to themselves or to others", assistant Wellington City Missioner Pip Rea said.
The non-clinical concept has Government funding to be rolled out in more centres.
"We committed $6 million to rolling out an initial six crisis recovery cafes – we're now scaling that up to eight," Doocey said.
"When those doors open and we start having people in, that's just going to be pretty special for me, and to be able to walk beside them," Hansen added.
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