In 2018 in New Zealand, 137 young people died by suicide and it is estimated that another 3,500 tried to take their own lives. While Government agencies are doing their best, some kids are stuck waiting up to six months to receive the counselling they so urgently need. I AM HOPE is the youth and community focused support group run by The Key to Life Charitable Trust, started by Mike King, a prominent mental health educator and Ambassador for both I Am Hope and the Key to Life Charitable Trust. For the last three years, Key to Life has been promoting positive attitudinal, societal change in schools and communities up and down the country, and
funding private care and counselling for young people
stuck-in-the-mud on waiting lists. I AM HOPE know kids want to take agency of their own mental health development and their communities’. They give kids permission to do just that and contribute directly to the social change we are all working towards.
I AM HOPE speak and communicate directly to and with
kids. They are unconventional, grassroots, provocative, and anti-establishment, simply because they know that their approach is effective at engaging with young Kiwis.