Fern Edmonds Memorial Fund

Fern Edmonds died on 8th October 2019 from suicide and her parents would like to set up a fund in her memory for the Great Barrier Island community. This would be used to understand good mental health, support people who are struggling and learn how to be stronger when things are going wrong.

Some of the ideas for how this fund could be used are:

- Develop a support system that takes into consideration peoples isolation, stress levels, grief, etc..

by employing a community support person who could visit people to see how they are,

- invite key speakers e.g. Mike King to speak on mental health (including schools),

- provide care and support to the caregivers,

- teach mindfulness, yoga and meditation in the schools to strengthen good mental health practices.

The prospects for this fund are endless but it is dependent on getting enough financial support.

This fund would be managed by the Aotea Family Support Group with input from the community and the Aotea Health team.