Mental Health Awareness Week: Wellington's Power Living Announces Partnership with Youthline
In the lead up to Mental Health Awareness Week, Wellington’s Power Living Yoga Studio has announced their newest
endeavour to change lives by supporting Wellington's Youthline. This charity was established to help young people of New Zealand by giving them a place for support and to help them
thrive and now with the community's help, Power Living wants to keep this organization going.
Justine Hamill spent 4 years studying psychotherapy before she translated this to her teacher training. Both she and Jase are passionate about this topic and available for interviews. Power Living is making it their mission to keep the
conversation around mental health going for the Wellington community and its residents.
“If our youth are our future, it's important to arm them with the love and support they need, as they try to make sense
of the world,” shared Power Living’s co-owner Jase Te Patu. “Like the practice of yoga, Youthline offers the tools and
support for our youth to withstand the toughest of times. Strong and resilient minds are what's needed for the leaders
of our future and we're proud to support what Youthline does."
With recent funding cuts Youthline could be forced to reduce or terminate their most vital services, which New Zealand,
and Wellington’s, vulnerable youth need. In 2015 alone, the Youthline Wellington Helpline counsellors answered 920
calls, and responded to over 6,00 text messages from young people with youth workers reaching out to almost 1,400 young
people with community and school visits.
“I was a troubled teen,” said Justine Hamill, the other half of Power Living, “with a dad in and out of prison. Feeling
misunderstood and unsupported I often felt I had nowhere to turn. Now, as a mother myself, I’m more passionate than ever
and aware of the need to support our youth. They are faced with many more challenges than my generation with the rise in
social media, distractions, drugs, and fast-paced living. My hope is that in supporting Youthline we are supporting
every young person whose life could be changed in an instant from being heard and empathised with.”
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