The South Island’s first crisis recovery café has opened in Christchurch, with government funding expanding the programme nationwide from six to eight sites.
The taxpayer-supported facility on Colombo Street is being presented by Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey as an alternative pathway for people experiencing mental distress, offering a calm, peer-led, non-clinical environment instead of the traditional emergency department route.
“We know wraparound support is so important; having someone who can help refer people on to long-term support can make a real difference and help people feel less overwhelmed when seeking support.”
People will be able to walk in without a referral and will be connected with community services and additional support networks.
The Christchurch café will be operated by Purapura Whetu, Odyssey House Trust, and Stepping Stone Trust and is due to begin accepting clients next month.
Around 100 locals with lived experience of mental health services contributed input into the design of the café.
“What we want to do is to make sure when we think about local needs, they are serviced well. And that’s what services like this provide,” Doocey said.
Purapura Whetu’s project operations manager Maree Hansen said the site would be staffed by people who have also been through similar experiences.
Hansen expected the site would be busy.
According to Doocey, an existing cafe in Wellington was seeing up to 300 people a quarter.
“That’s a real difference. Quite often, they’re people who could potentially be going to an emergency department. It takes real pressure off them as well and ultimately gives people choice.”