MATES matter NZ

The MATES matter NZ Charitable Trust was established in 2020 in response to the high suicide rates in New Zealand. The trust has been set up to provide resources and profile-raising activities around mental wellness support for everyone in the Waikato and to increase more help options and enable more people to have life-supporting conversations. We started as a dream of our founder Craig Bulloch, who himself has lived with mental illness and was close to becoming one of the many that we lose too young. He was saved and vowed to make a change. He believed that there was a lot of talk around Mental Health and wellbeing but not a lot of action was taking place. A Facebook group was started and as the community grew it was clear that providing programs and resources to the Waikato community was where the need was. The trust has grown and can now provide programs to the community. We will become a hub for wellbeing where people can come, get the resources and help they need, but also a place to learn about how to help those that may be in crisis. The heart of Mates Matter NZ is to provide a suicide prevention approach that is specific to the needs of workplaces and communities within the Waikato region. MATES matter NZ purpose - Providing resources and profile raising activities around mental wellness and support for everyone in the community MATES matter NZ Vision – Life-affirming communities connecting people. MATES matter NZ Values – Integrity, Aroha, Manaakitanga