By Golnaz Bassam-Tabar
“We’re on a mission to inspire a nation of young people,” says mental health advocate and I Am Hope founder Mike King as he gears up to embark on a nationwide tour on Monday, 1 August.
The Gumboot Army Activation Tour will see founder Mike King, lead I Am Hope ambassador Tai Tupou and I Am Hope’s recently appointed kaiārahi, former league star and mentor Richie Barnett, travel the length of the country from Dunedin through to Waitakere, meeting with sponsors, volunteers and most importantly, members of the community from all walks of life.
“We’re meeting with the people who make up the backbone of who we are as a charity and what we do. The real heroes of our story.
“Since 2021, New Zealand has donated $3.3 million for free kids counselling sessions. The money comes from people in the community who’ve been touched first-hand by mental health and suicide. It also comes from businesses who can no longer sit by and watch our rangatahi suffer,” says King.
“So, we’re going back to our communities and saying you did an incredible job last year, and we will never be able to thank you enough. We need you to do it again this year because our kids are still dying.
“While the bureaucrats are busy arguing amongst themselves and mudslinging for political point scoring, we need to get up and do something about it because if nothing changes, then nothing changes.
“Thank you, New Zealand, for having our kids’ backs.”
Since its launch three years ago, Gumboot Friday has spent more than $2.8 million on 20,481 free counselling sessions for 9,376 kiwi kids.
This year, the aim is to provide over 30,000 free counselling sessions by achieving the $5 million goal.
About Gumboot Friday:
Gumboot Friday is an online platform that connects young people with counsellors or therapists all over New Zealand. All donations made to the Gumboot Friday Fund directly support kids in need wherever they are in New Zealand, for online or in-person sessions.
About I Am Hope charity:
Our charity started when Mike King visited Taipa Area School in the Far North, where five kids had taken their lives within five months. Since 2015, we’ve spoken to over 350,000 kids from Bluff to Kaitaia. Our message to our kids is about the overactive inner critic. One of the universal experiences as a human being is that sticky feeling that you are not good enough – you don’t deserve what you have, and you can never achieve what you want. Despite being a daily challenge for everyone, it is also one of the most isolating experiences we all face.
Unfortunately, because we hide this aspect of ourselves, our tamariki feel alien, mentally ill, or simply not good enough. When we open the door to these hard conversations and highlight that we all struggle with this inner critic, we can show our tamariki that they are held and normal. I Am Hope’s job is to open the door and reduce the barriers to this kōrero through our own vulnerable stories, given with resources and learnings to uplift our tamariki into a better life and normalise the inner critic.
