Where Can I Get Help For Depression
There are a range of support people and services in the community that can help you if you are feeling depressed.
A good starting point is your GP (family doctor). They can provide advice and can refer you to specialist services where needed🧑⚕️
There are also a variety of free telephone helplines and counselling services available:
📱 1737 Need to talk? - Call or text 1737
📞 The Depression Helpline - 0800 111 757 or text 4202
📱 Lifeline - 0800 LIFELINE 0800 543 354 or text 4357. and
📞 Lifeline Suicide prevention - 0508 TAUTOKO or 0508 828 865
📱 Samaritans - 0800 72 66 66
These are all available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There are also freephone helplines especially for children and young people, including Youthline (for 12-24 year olds) and What’s Up (for children and teenagers). Youthline is available 24/7 and What’s Up is available any day from 11am to 11pm.
📞 Youthline - 0800 376 633, text 234, email talk@youthline.co.nz
📱 What's Up - 0800 942 8787, email whatsup@barnardos.org.nz
Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to access free counselling services through a referral from your GP or other health professional, or through your employer if they are signed up to an EAP (Employee Assistance Programme).
Peer support groups can also be helpful for people experiencing depression. These are groups (often run by a trained facilitator) where people come together to share their experiences and support each other 🫶
CAB Far North is happy to take your calls on 09 407 9829 or 0800 367 222. Email us on farnorth@cab.org.nz or visit us at 6 Cobham Rd., Procter Library Building, Kerikeri (across the road from Kerikeri Fire Station).
Open Monday to Thursday 9.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. & Friday 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Suellen’s sweet Christmas tradition
The festive season is always a great excuse to indulge your sweet tooth, and this time of year poses the perfect opportunity to bring a real showstopper to the Christmas table.
For Suellen’s family, that showstopper is Croquembouche, an impressive tower of cream puffs bound together with spun sugar that is popular at weddings in France and Italy.
What began as a birthday treat at a local French café has become a cherished Christmas tradition for Suellen and her 17-year-old twin granddaughters, Ellie and Sadie. Every year, the trio gather in Suellen’s apartment at William Sanders Village to cook this festive dessert - a holiday highlight they all treasure.
Click read more for the recipe.
Would you like a free copy of our February 2025 issue?
Kia ora neighbours. We give away free copies to readers whose recipes are used in our magazine. We're still on the hunt for tomato recipes, so send your family's favourite way to use up your homegrown harvest, to: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. If we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of the mag