Support Services & Helplines

Parents who get the support and help that they need with parenting are more relaxed and better able to look after their children. If the mother or father is mentally unwell, extra support is essential to help with their recovery, and we encourage anyone to seek advice from a GP, Midwife, or Plunket nurse in the first instance. Support from family/whānau, extended family, friends and other parents may not always be possible or be enough for some families. Extra community support may be needed.

Depression-specific helplines

Depression Helpline – 0800 111 757 or free text 4202 (to talk to a trained counsellor about how you are feeling or to ask any questions)

www.depression.org.nz – includes The Journal online help service

SPARX.org.nz – online e-therapy tool provided by the University of Auckland that helps young people learn skills to deal with feeling down, depressed or stressed

Help for New Fathers

Kidz Need Dadz – Their mission is to help New Zealand men be the best fathers they can be. Through education and support they help dads to play an active part in their children’s lives. As well as supporting fathers, they educate the broader community about the need for dads to be involved with their children. They help with parenting, relationship separation, assistance with legal advice and mentoring, information on health and wellbeing services for men, and events for dads to meet up.

Great Fathers creates resources that new dads can relate to and learn from, and that parenting organisations can use to work with families, provides professional development training around these resources and ways to measure effectiveness, provides workshops to management and staff to share what we have found works with dads.

Support for rainbow community

OUTLine NZ – Gay/lesbian phone counselling, myths and stereotypes debunked, face to face counselling, sex information, events, coming out guide, frequently asked questions and more.

Rainbow Youth – Support queer and gender diverse youth aged 13-27 including through an Asian peer support group.

Gender Minorities Aotearoa – Trans community resources and database.

Intersex Trust Aotearoa NZ – A New Zealand registered charitable trust and provides information, education and training for organisations and professionals who provide services to intersex people and their families.

InsideOUT – works with youth, whānau, schools, community groups, youth services, government agencies and other relevant organisations to provide safer schools and communities for young people of minority sexualities, sexes and genders.

Other specialist helplines

Alcohol and Drug Helpline – 0800 787 797 or online chat

Are You OK – 0800 456 450 family violence helpline

Asian Family Services – 0800 862 342 – Working with Asian Families and Communities to be Healthy and Resilient

Gambling Helpline – 0800 654 655

Anxiety phone line – 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY)

Seniorline – 0800 725 463 A free information service for older people

Shine – 0508 744 633 confidential domestic abuse helpline

Quit Line – 0800 778 778 smoking cessation help

Vagus Line – 0800 56 76 666 (Mon, Wed, Fri 12 noon – 2pm). Promote family harmony among Chinese, enhance parenting skills, decrease conflict among family members (couple, parent-child, in-laws) and stop family violence

Women’s Refuge Crisisline – 0800 733 843 (0800 REFUGE) (for women living with violence, or in fear, in their relationship or family)

Shakti Crisis Line – 0800 742 584 (for migrant or refugee women living with family violence

Rape Crisis – 0800 883 300 (for support after rape or sexual assault)