Tackle Youth Suicide With Innovation! Rongoaa Matihiko - Digital Therapy Workshops

Our Healing Innovation Hub's (CC57432) charity mission is to break the stigma of mental health, traumas and suicide. Maaori male boys have the highest suicide rates to date. By going innovative with healing solutions, we are exposing mindfulness therapy into innovation resources to appeal to different age groups, cultures, genders and beliefs.

WHAT ARE THESE WORKSHOPS?

RONGOAA MATIHIKO - DIGITAL THERAPY workshops, learning how to design Virtual Reality apps for mental health & wellbeing. Tech-for-good workshops.

These 5 day workshops include:

Basics of 3D Modelling with TinkerCAD; Basics of Blender; Bonus features; Example Model 1;

Example Model 2; Basic Animation; Intro to Unity; Probuilder; Building the game to a mobile phone; Integrating Blender and probuilder objects into Unity

WHERE? Ngaruawahia High School*, Waikato, New Zealand OR at home on your own computer/internet devices (Pilot programmes. We'll expand to other schools/organisations/marae in the near future)

WHEN?

Group 1: Monday 12 July to Friday 16 July 2021, 10am-4pm

Group 2: Monday 19 July to Friday 23 July, 10am-4pm

WHO WILL BE TEACHING THESE WORKSHOPS? A few professional Game Developers will be running these workshops. These workshops can also be livestreamed & done from home with your own youth/children also**

CAN THIS APP HELP WITH DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, OR OTHER MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES?

WHAT RESEARCH DO YOU HAVE?

Digital Therapy, using indigenous cultural context, is “… the perspective use of adventure experiences provide by mental health professionals, often conducted in natural settings that kinaesthetically engage clients of cognitive, affective, and behavioural levels”  (Gass, Gillis, & Russell, 2001, p1).  Through therapy and innovation we are merging adventure therapy with these workshops to help individuals develop their own healing resources to boost confidence and well-being.

WHO CAN ATTEND THESE SPRINT DIGITAL THERAPY VR WORKSHOPS? HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN ATTEND THESE WORKSHOPS? Our first intake for each week will be 30 Maori/Pasifika students ages 10-18 per school/organisation where we run these programmes. All computer resources provided

We also know that Maaori/Pasifika/Disability children & youth are disadvantaged in the technology innovation sectors. We are running these tech-for-good programmes to bridge that gap by providing these free workshops for these specific individuals & families.

DOES IT COST ANYTHING?

No! Registered Maaori/Pasifika youth (ages 10-18) will attend these workshops free of charge. They will only need to bring their own lunches. As a charity, all donations will be accepted though to help keep these workshops running for free each holiday period.

WILL THESE VR APPS BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC?

YES! These tech-4-good workshops will be added to our already existing app - designing many different app scenes for users to enjoy to help deal with mental health & wellbeing. Nature, music, culture - get digital for mental health

WILL YOUTH BE DOING ANY OTHER ACTIVITIES APART FROM DESIGNING VR APPS ON COMPUTERS?

Yes! Youth will be taking regular breaks for lunch & fitness. Our charity follows the Whare Tapa Whaa model (Taha Tinana - Physical, Taha Wairua - Spiritual, Taha Hinengaro - Emotional/Mental, & Taha Whaanau - Family Wellbeing).

WHO ARE THE STAFF & WORKERS THAT ARE RUNNING THIS CHARITY & PROGRAMME?

Adele Hauwai (CEO/Trustee)

Dion McCormick (Acting CFO, Trustee)

Sock Hwee Tan (Funding Manager, Trustee)

Ricky Wichman (Trustee)

Dr Derek Chong (Programme Coordinator, Trustee)

Joe Chang (Game Developer)

Rongoaa Matihiko (Virutal Therapy) online services, in collaboration with different iwi organisations around Aotearoa, are wanting to achieve one of our business capability plans of increasing economic, health, and education growth amongst indigenous cultures – especially vulnerable children and youth.  One in four people have a mental health challenge.  By providing access to high yielding therapeutic programs in using tikanga, hauora and innovation, this ensures a better future for all tangata whenua in the Waikato, nationwide and around the world.