Taranaki Retreat is celebrating its fifth anniversary by
embracing 5eptember as a month of raising awareness and
funds, including a call for donors to be part of a “team
of 555”.
Pou Ārahi/Executive Officer Jamie Allen
says regular donations will help secure the future of the
Retreat, dedicated to supporting people through tough
times.
“We want to build up 555 people who are
donating to make the Retreat viable for the next five years
to help us keep our doors open,” he says.
If people
set up an automatic payment, even for $5 a month, that would
help keep the suicide prevention initiative as part of the
community. People can also donate at
givealittle.co.nz/cause/5eptember.
Along with the call
for the team of 555, there will be a variety of raising
funds and awareness events in 5eptember, including a virtual
biking journey from the top to the tip of
Aotearoa.
“People have stayed from Cape Reinga to
Bluff, literally, and received all the aroha the Taranaki
community has been able to express through the Retreat,”
Jamie says.
Retreat Life Coach Liz Fry, who is
organising the 5eptember events, says cyclists are being
sought to book in their slot on the exercise bikes at New
Plymouth support hub Waimanako/The Hope Centre on 5eptember
10. Even people out of the city and even Taranaki, can be
involved by gaining sponsorship to clock up the
kilometres.
The birthday celebrations begin on
Thursday 5eptember 1 with a launch night at Te Huinga/The
Gathering in the Kai-for-Koha space at Waimanako, where
there will be live music, dance acts and a silent
auction.
Other activities during the birthday month,
include a working bee at Waimanako on a dry date and candle
lighting in memory of lost loved ones in the support hub on
5eptember 10 to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.
“Listening Ear team members will be available to stand
alongside you while the candle is lit,” Jamie says. People
are welcome throughout the day between 10am-9pm.
Liz
says the celebrations will embrace International Chocolate
Day on 5eptember 13 and, on 5eptember 17 there will be a Pop
Up Sale, including crafts, furniture, books, clothes and a
bake sale. “If you would like to donate quality items,
please bring them in between 9am-9pm, Monday to Saturday,”
Liz says.
The same day, Liz will be running the
popular Soul Board Workshop at Waimanako. All ticket money
is going to Taranaki Retreat.
On 5eptember 24, there
will be a Living Library event. “We are really excited to
have this back in the mix again! We have some human books
lining up to share their story,” Jamie says.
From
5eptember 26 to October 2 is Mental Health Awareness Week,
which will feature a variety of workshops for people to be
involved in and three Support Expo offerings. These will be
at Ngāmotu/New Plymouth on 5eptember 26, Te Hāwera on the
27th and Whakaahurangi/Stratford on the 28th. “Come along
and meet the people that can support your wellbeing in the
community,” Liz says.
Jamie and wife Suzy led the
way to create Taranaki Retreat, which opened in 2017 thanks
to huge community support.
The Retreat is nestled in
lush land on Hurford Rd, Ōmata, beneath the gaze of
Taranaki Maunga. This is a place where people can stay for
free, so they have space to breathe and begin or continue
their healing journey. In this sanctuary, guests are
supported by the host family and peer support team,
nourished with lovingly prepared food and offered a number
of activities, called “star attractions”.
During
the five years since opening, thousands of people have been
helped by the Retreat and its outreach support team, and now
also at Waimanako in the Metro Plaza, downtown New Plymouth.
It also includes the Kai-for-Koha café.
Waimanako is
a welcoming place where people can connect with the
Listening Ears team, take part in all kinds of workshops and
support groups. “It’s people helping people,” Jamie
says. Taranaki Retreat has evolved since its inception.
“It’s a bit of a social movement; it’s an organisation
that’s trying to change up the way we deal with our mental
health and the way we care for one another, to offer peer
support as a way forward and to offer a time out space when
things get tough.”
But for Taranaki Retreat and
Waimanako to continue and flourish, the organisation needs
ongoing community support and that “team of
555”.
For more information about the 5eptember
events or supporting the Retreat, go to
taranakiretreat.org.nz or email info@taranakiretreat.org.nz,
coachliz@taranakiretreat.org.nz,
phone
062150993.
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