Mike brings message of hope North
Reporter Bayley Moor reports on Mike King’s latest quest.
Mental health advocate Mike King will share his message of hope to Northland schools and in a public talk in Kaikohe.
King along with several others, is en route from Bluff for the I Am Hope Tour which will see him speak in close to 50 towns and 44 schools by the time it wraps up in Cape Reinga on March 30.
I Am Hope comes in a conceptual form - written on a wristband, with the idea that the wearer is a safe person to talk to and share their struggles with, which aims to ease their pressures and prevent self-harm.
‘‘I thought we’ve got to get out to talk to people and hand out the wristbands, so we thought what better way than a walk from Bluff to Cape Reinga,’’ King says.
‘‘What we discovered at 55, was walking really hurts, so the idea of little motorbikes came about.’’
Scooters were provided by Suzuki and painted by famous New Zealand artists.
Each 50cc bike is set to be auctioned to raise money for the Key to Life Charitable Trust.
King says during the last five years he has been talking to students, he’s found 40 per cent have a major crisis before they leave school, and 80 per cent of those children don’t ask for help.
‘‘We can help our young people when they feel like they’ve hit rock bottom. By listening to them without judgement, without perpetuating the old Kiwi ‘toughen up mate’ attitude we can show them it’s ok to feel down, lonely, and sad, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, there is hope.’’
Bay of Islands artist Lester Hall painted ‘Pukana for Hope’ for the tour and says it’s ‘‘completely awesome’’ King has chosen to ride it.
Hall joined the tour as a support person and says it has been moving to watch King talk about the ‘‘inner critic’’.
‘‘It’s working towards an attitudinal change and outcomes for everyone,’’ Hall says.
‘‘You can see the kids getting it and having moments of clarity.
‘‘It’s about a mental struggle that most of us have with the inner critic and normalising the conversation around that.’’
The I Am Hope Tour will visit Whangarei Intermediate, Kaikohe Intermediate, and Te Kao school with a public talk in Kaikohe.
❚ Free public talk, March 29, 6pm at Kaikohe Memorial Hall. If you need to talk to someone, the following free helplines operate 24/7: DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757, LIFELINE: 0800 543 354.
‘‘It's about a mental struggle that most of us have with the inner critic and normalising the conversation around that.’’
Lester Hall