Taranaki Retreat marks fifth anniversary

New Plymouth barber Steven Stewart donates his to cut hair for the Taranaki Retreat
Photo: RNZ/ Robin Martin

Not long after completing a mental health qualification a New Plymouth barber realised the perfect place to employ his new skills was at his barber’s chair.

Steven Stewart has since done more than 100 voluntary hours with his clippers and scissors in hand for the Taranaki Retreat – a suicide prevention initiative – marking its fifth anniversary this month.

Stewart said the idea came to him on placement at Taranaki Base Hospital while completing a Certificate in Mental Health and Addiction.

“When I was at the hospital I used to take some of my tools and I’d sit out the front and cut some of the patients’ hair and it seemed to work, like really, there was a connection there. People would open up.”

After finishing his qualification Stewart approached the retreat’s pou ārahi – executive officer Jamie Allen asking if he could get involved.

Since then he has volunteered at Waimanako – The Hope Centre, a support hub in New Plymouth which is an offshoot of the Taranaki Retreat.

“It’s been fantastic and one of the things I love so much about being down there is the creativity of the people who come in.

“The haircuts you do down there are not the same as the ones you do in a barber shop, but I love that.”

And then there is the conversation.

“The just want to have a chat, they want to sit down, talk about their day. A lot of the time it’s not very heavy and very rarely do I find myself giving advice.

“They just want someone to listen to them and once they’ve felt heard they are up and about with a smile on their face.”

The Taranaki Retreat was born out of Jamie Allen’s own personal suffering and has now helped more than 10,000 whānau and individuals enduring trauma in their lives.

A former dean at the Taranaki Cathedral, Allen, and his wife Suzy, came up with the idea of the retreat after losing their daughter Carrie to cancer in 2012.

Allen said they experienced fantastic care at Ronald McDonald House, but felt that it was for a very specific kaupapa.

“We felt there was a similar need for mental health support, for addiction support, for helping people dealing with distress in their lives, but where that distress didn’t meet the acute level where it was about clinical hospital-level support, it actually needed the community’s wrap around.”

So, the couple sold their home and set up a trust which opened the retreat on farmland on the outskirts of New Plymouth in 2017.

Allen described it as a “place to breathe”.

“It’s a time out space … it’s where stepping out of what’s happening in life is the right call and just pressing that pause button and taking time out.”

Charlotte Forsyth says the Taranaki Retreat helped her get back on her feet after her brother’s suicide. She now volunteers for the organisation.
Photo: RNZ/ Robin Martin

Run by about a dozen staff and 100 volunteers, the retreat includes accommodation, a gym, gardens – with an uninterrupted view of Mt Taranaki – free-range chickens and the odd pet goat.

A host family serves an evening meal and each resident is assigned a personal support person and professional care is also on hand.

The Waimanako – The Hope Centre was opened in New Plymouth about a year ago with the help of the district council.

Allen said demand at the retreat was affecting its work.

“It was just so busy. There would be people rocking up all the time, there would be people presenting in distress, the phone would be going all the time, there was a constant traffic and we realised that actually wasn’t helpful to the very people we were trying to give the space to.”

He said Waimanako connected to other services, offered food for koha, various workshops, a ‘listening ear” service, and provided for those people who just wanted to rock up.

Charlotte Forsyth, who was working behind an espresso machine, had first-hand experience of the retreat’s services.

In 2018, she lost her brother David to suicide.

“I had a beautiful friend who’d heard about the retreat and she actually referred me because I was one of those people who didn’t think I needed it and there were other people out there who needed it more than me.”

She stayed at the retreat for a week with her husband and two teenage sons.

“I was trying to be the everything for everybody. Looking after my parents, looking after my own family, navigating lots of intertwining stuff and I just felt overwhelmed by everything and holding all of it in my hands.

“So, obviously I lost the plot and needed a little bit of help.”

Forsyth said the retreat allowed her the space to recover.

“I always say that I had to step off the bus, you know the world bus, and having that opportunity to step off not having to be anywhere, not having to answer the phone, not having to plan the day, and just go with the flow was so important.”

Forsyth booked in again six months later as an individual to deal with residual grief and guilt about her brother’s suicide and plan a road forward.

She now volunteers two days a week at Waimanako, sits in on empathy groups and tends the Remembrance Garden at the retreat.

Jamie Allen at Waimanako – an offshoot of the Taranaki Retreat.
Photo: RNZ/ Robin Martin

Forsyth couldn’t emphasise enough the importance of the service the retreat provided.

“I think it gave me a massive stepping stone and it still does, and that’s one thing I love about the retreat is that they don’t just have you in for a stay and then go ‘See you later, thanks for staying’, and ‘Are you okay?’ every now and then.

“You can connect back any time and every time you need it, whenever you need it, in whatever form works for you.”

It was a point echoed by barber Steven Stewart, who said people in Taranaki didn’t [know] how lucky they were to have the Retreat.

“The Taranaki Retreat and Waimanako should be a prototype for all provincial centres, every town needs this sort of service.

“Community run, community backed and it just brings out such amazing people. There’s so many people out there with so much to give.”

Jamie Allen said to mark its fifth anniversary Taranaki Retreat is aiming to create a team of 555 people making a regular donation of $5 a month, to help it continue its work. And it is also operating a Givealittle page.

“We’re just trying to find some more support so we can keep doing what we are doing for the next five years or indeed the next five months would be good.”

In its first six months Waimanako – The Hope Centre:

• Served more than 10,000 whānau and individuals at Te Huinga – The Gathering.
• Made more 7000 hot drinks, dished up 1500 all-day-breakfasts, sliced up 4500 mushrooms and 2750 tomatoes.
• Rescued mountains of food destined for landfill.
• Offered 110 hours of haircuts for a koha.
• Supported an average of 302 whānau and individuals at any given time, through hardship, distress, grief, loss, trauma and into finding hope.
• Poured 500 hours of volunteer mahi into our community.
• Provided 7488 hours of residential support.
• Cared, cried, reflected, laughed, encouraged and worked on solutions for 7280 hours
• Offered 520 hours of support groups and workshops

Where to get help:

Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.

Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357

Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO (24/7). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.

Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 (24/7) or text 4202

Samaritans: 0800 726 666 (24/7)

Youthline: 0800 376 633 (24/7) or free text 234 (8am-12am), or email talk@youthline.co.nz

What’s Up: online chat (3pm-10pm) or 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787 helpline (12pm-10pm weekdays, 3pm-11pm weekends)

Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm or text 832 Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and English.

Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254

Healthline: 0800 611 116

Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155

OUTLine: 0800 688 5463 (6pm-9pm)

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.