Changing Minds

There are several bills currently open in Parliament for public submission.

Here we draw your attention to the Drug Overdose (Assistance Protection) Legislation Bill.

This bill is seeking to provide legal protection for people seeking help in the event of an overdose or serious drug harm. You can find out more on the NZ Drug Foundation website and make a submission 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/edutrpyedy

Submissions close on Tuesday 16 June.

🔶Election 2026🔶

We're collating a community letter to send to the political parties to find out how they're going to serve the Lived Experience community if they are elected to govern.

Please take a moment to fill out our short survey here to share your thoughts with us 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/kvgotkzcnx You can go in the draw to win one of three $50 Prezzy cards.

We're closing the survey tomorrow, Friday 5 June, to give us time to write the letter, send it off, and get responses back to share with you, so that you can make an informed decision on polling day 🗳️

There are several bills currently open in Parliament for public submission.

Here we draw your attention to the Disability Support Services Bill.

CCS Disability Action have done an amazing job of deciphering the Bill and its impacts. You can read their guide here and make a submission 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/erlbcfgflf

Submissions close on Friday 12 June.

Along with saying that we are before we think (see last post), Witi Ihimaera Smiler also asked this important question—

Who do we want to be?

And he directed this at us, the collective Aotearoa New Zealand. Who do we want to be? What do we want our home to be?

This is an especially critical question, at this time, with an Election looming. Who do we want to be? Who do we want representing us and making decisions on behalf of us?

We will continue to share information, so that we can all make an informed choice. In the meantime, make sure you're enrolled to vote 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/yzqdtxabtl

In his new book Te kaikaukau + the swimmer, the incomparable Witi Ihimaera Smiler shares the following quote—

"In Western thinking, the ego is the principal definition of the individual. The European philosopher René Descartes famously proposed the dictum 'I think, therefore I am," cogito, ergo sum.

My aunt Ngoingoi Pēwhairangi posited the Māori alternative: 'I am before I think,' ko au i mua i aku whakaaro."

This is so poignant. It's very easy to get wrapped up in our thoughts, defined by them, limited by them. The Western worldview places the individual at the centre of their universe, which is an incredibly isolating place to be.

There are many collective cultural worldviews, like te ao Māori, that we can learn from that tell us language and culture and history and heritage and connections with people and nature are what shape us, not our thoughts.

🔶Election 2026🔶 Survey closes Friday 5 June - we want to hear from you 💬

The Government released its Budget 2026 yesterday. Every year, we need to get in the habit of asking - what's in it for you? What's in it for me? What's in it for us?

There's investment going into front line health services, which is welcomed. For mental health, specifically growing forensic mental health services - although the amount is undisclosed. There are questions to ask here - we've heard from the LE community in consultations recently about what it is that's really needed. We don't want to keep relying on the ambulances at the bottom of the cliff. Yes, crisis response and critical demand services are an important and necessary support, but the community is asking for investment in prevention, in early intervention, in education.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. As you may have seen, we've been running a series of posts from the previous General Election in 2023, when we asked you to let us know what you wanted MPs to know about living with Lived Experience.

We're collating your responses again for Election 2026 to send a letter to the political parties to get their replies about how they will support Lived Experience if they're elected to govern. This is designed to help you make an informed choice come election day.

Please fill out our short survey here to share your thoughts with us 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/kvgotkzcnx You can go in the draw to win one of three $50 Prezzy cards.

New 'Take It From Us' podcast episode 🎙️

Dave Burnside started drinking at eight. He was drawn into the gang scene and drugs in Auckland. Multiple prison sentences followed - he was angry, railing against the system.

Then one day in Spring Hill Prison, a man from his past appeared at his cell door. Another Dave, someone just like him - gangs, drugs, the same story. But this Dave had found recovery and peace.

Dave didn't remember the words, but he remembered the feeling. "I want what you've got," he thought. That moment shifted everything.

Now Dave mentors incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, visits prisons, campaigns for drug law reform, and challenges public perception around crime. He's doing a PhD, lecturing at universities, and travelling globally with a message of redemption.

🎧 Hear Dave's powerful story on Take It From Us with Kent Johns from Thursday 28 May.

🔗 Listen here ▶️ https://f.mtr.cool/rxarmbdpxx
📱 Or wherever you get your podcasts.

Celebrating Heidi McIlroy and the power of community ❤️

Heidi's beautiful book, 'This Is How It Feels—Voices of Lived Experience', an absolutely stunning collation of expressions of Lived Experience of mental distress, has been released into the world ❤️ It's been donated to people and spaces all around the motu and is going to give a giant hug to anyone who is feeling alone in their experiences 🫂

Visit the website to take a look inside the book and purchase your own copy - every purchase means more copies that can be donated 🥳 https://f.mtr.cool/diptgcpzva

Congratulations to Heidi and everyone who contributed to the book, it's truly spectacular ❤️

Over the course of the National Representative Body project, we’ve been hearing again and again how important connection is. With your help, we are wanting to learn more about the communities and networks that matter to people across Aotearoa’s mental health and addiction Lived Experience spaces.

We've created a short survey where you can share about the connections in your world. You don't have to have previously participated in the project to contribute and it should only take around 5 minutes.

We’d love to hear from:
🔸tāngata whaiora
🔸whānau and supporters
🔸people in Consumer, Peer Support, and Lived Experience roles
🔸organisations working alongside mental health and addiction communities

Your responses will stay private and will help us better understand the diversity and relationships that already exist across our communities.

If you’d like support to complete the survey, we'd love to help you out. Just email us at: [email protected] 💻

To go directly to the survey, follow the link 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/ctughdsrej
Or to find out more, visit the website 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/bwknufsvgz

Thank you for taking the time to contribute! 😀