These kaupapa will help prevent suicide, strengthen wellbeing, or provide support if a suicide happens – with a particular focus on Māori, Pasifika, maternal, men, youth, rainbow, and rural communities.
Congratulations to all successful recipients! We’re honoured to support this vital mahi and look forward to seeing these projects take shape in communities across the motu.
Find out more information about the awarded projects below:
Connection Circles: Adhikaar Aotearoa (nationwide)
Connection Circles will create culturally grounded spaces for ethnic rainbow communities across Aotearoa to build connection, intergenerational understanding, belonging and resilience.
Boys Drawing Boys: Tatau Fa’atasi (Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland)
This 12-month programme will support queer and Indigenous men experiencing social and cultural isolation through creative, community-led spaces facilitated by queer Indigenous artists, activists and leaders.
Ūkaipō (Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland)
Offering home visits and monthly wānanga, Ūkaipō will support pregnant and postpartum Māori māmā experiencing isolation, mental distress or perinatal/postpartum depression through a community-led approach.
Mana Takatāpui – Mana Tipua and Tīwhanawhana (nationwide)
Mana Tipua and Tīwhanawhana will work together to update, translate into te reo Māori, and redistribute three suicide prevention resources for takatāpui, rainbow, Māori and rangatahi communities.
Improving National Access to Suicide Bereavement Support through online delivery of the Waves Programme (nationwide)
This project will pilot online delivery of the Waves programme, helping more people across Aotearoa access safe suicide-bereavement support, especially those unable to attend in person.
Kia Tū, Kia Ora by He Tapu te Oranga (nationwide)
Led by the New Zealand Māori Council, this national Māori-led initiative will strengthen community capability, connection and culturally grounded responses to suicide prevention and bereavement. It will do this through five regional hui, alongside the development of a suicide prevention toolkit, a tikanga-based Early Response Framework and postvention templates.
In-Home Maternal Mental Health Support for Women (South Auckland and North Waikato)
This project will extend in-home support for wāhine experiencing significant maternal mental health challenges, including isolation, depression and suicidal ideation. Each māmā will be offered up to five in-home visits, with flexibility to tailor support to her individual needs and circumstances.
Te Ara Oranga o Kāwhia (Kawhia, Waikato)
Te Ara Oranga o Kāwhia is a 12-month, community-led initiative supporting Māori, rural whānau, rangatahi, men and maternal communities in Kāwhia. The project will strengthen suicide prevention and postvention through facilitated peer support spaces, taiao-based healing and identity wānanga, a local prevention and postvention response framework, a strengths-based health promotion campaign, and training for community connectors.
Te Ara o Hine – Cultural Pathways to Wellbeing (Rāhui Pōkeka Huntly)
This kaupapa Māori initiative will draw on pūrākau/storytelling, creative expression and collective healing practices to support wellbeing and connection. Through a series of wānanga, toi Māori workshops and community gatherings, the project will create safe, culturally grounded spaces for people to come together, share kōrero, strengthen identity and build resilience.
Coast Mates – WestREAP (West Coast – Grey and Westland)
Coast Mates is a community-led programme supporting men in rural and isolated communities across Grey and Westland. Over 12 months, WestREAP will work with trusted local connectors to bring men together through six alcohol-free gatherings in rural hubs, using practical, low-pressure activities like shared meals, skills nights, working bees and local outings.
Māmā Connect – WestREAP (West Coast – Grey and Westland)
Māmā Connect will provide early support and connection for mothers across Grey and Westland, helping reduce isolation and boost wellbeing. WestREAP will create a network of regular, child-friendly Māmā Circles that foster connection, practical peer support, and clear, discreet pathways to existing supports for mothers who may be pregnant, postnatal, or parenting in the early years.
North Canterbury Rural Suicide Prevention Project (Waimakariri and Hurunui, North Canterbury)
This project builds on a trusted local approach in North Canterbury, with a focus on strengthening suicide prevention and providing support after a suicide in rural communities. This will be achieved through Fenceline Kōrero events, means safety initiatives, supporting local partnerships, and community skills training.
Te Ahu Whakaora – Te Ahu, a place of restoration/healing (Te Hiku o Te Ika/Far North)
Te Ahu Whakaora will bring rangatahi, whānau and community together through kaupapa Māori activities that strengthen identity, resilience and early-intervention pathways. The programme includes monthly whānau wānanga at the marae, with te reo Māori learning, pūrākau, rongoā, and facilitated kōrero about wellbeing, communication and support. Rangatahi and whānau will also take part in hands-on work-experience opportunities, including river restoration, native planting, environmental monitoring and hapū-led projects.
Connected Mothers, Stronger Futures (Rodney)
This initiative will support mothers through the transition to parenting by nurturing connection, reducing isolation, and supporting early intervention. The programme expands on the Women’s Centre Rodney’s existing wraparound model of support, which combines peer connection groups, wellbeing education, counselling pathways, and community-based support to help women through challenging life transitions.
Anglican Care Waiapu – Growing Through Grief (Tauranga, Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki, Taupō, Rotorua, Tairāwhiti, Wairoa, Hawke’s Bay, and Tararua)
Growing Through Grief will provide grief, loss and change education and peer-support programmes for tamariki, rangatahi and adults across several regions. The project will deliver three-to-six session peer-support programmes in schools and community settings, helping children and young people build understanding, connection and coping skills.
MATES in Construction Rangatahi Programme (South Auckland)
MATES in Construction NZ will design, co-develop and pilot a new wellbeing and suicide prevention programme for rangatahi entering the construction trades. Drawing on Te Whare Tapa Whā, the programme will equip rangatahi with tools to understand and protect their wellbeing, build peer support capability, manage the stressors of early employment, and seek or offer help early.
Digital Lifeline: Support for Rainbow Communities Experiencing Sextortion and Online Abuse (nationwide)
Netsafe and its partners will deliver a co-created, trauma-informed digital self-help navigator for takātapui and rainbow people affected by image-based sexual abuse and sextortion. The tool will provide immediate psychological support, coping strategies and guided next steps, with tailored pathways for rainbow communities and men.
Te Haerenga o te Whare Tupaea (Ōtautahi Christchurch)
Te Haerenga o te Whare Tupaea will support whānau in Ōtautahi navigating the impacts of suicide through a community-led postvention initiative grounded in tikanga Māori. All activities will be delivered through wānanga, facilitated whānau engagement, and rongoā Māori healing practices.
