The family owned and operated business has been nailing it in Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) for well over a decade, and recently their small team of talented staff completed GoodYarn, a workplace mental health awareness programme that is transforming lives across the motu.

Delivered by Education Unlimited Director Tina Rose, the workshop boosts mental health literacy in the workplace by improving awareness of the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and encouraging people to talk more openly about it. For the tightknit team at Kiwi Carpentry, it has been a game changer.

“There has been a real culture shift since doing the workshop,” says Catherine Erskine, who owns the business with partner Andrew Bennie and his father Rob. “Our team is more supportive, people are feeling more comfortable to talk about things and we’re being more vulnerable with each other. It has opened up the kōrero.

“Recently one of our workers was worried about a co-worker and because of GoodYarn, she took it upon herself to go around to their house and check in on them, and it was a really good thing she did. Talking to people about their mental health is not always a comfortable thing, and you’re not sure you’re going to get it right – but you never know what support you could give to a person that could save them. In my experience of reaching out to a few staff members it has been very helpful, even lifechanging for some.”

So far the 2.5 hour GoodYarn workshop has been delivered to more than 19,000 workers nationwide across a range of industries, equipping a growing number of people with the skills and confidence to talk about mental health. When Catherine first found out about the programme, she says signing up the Kiwi Carpentry workforce was a no-brainer.

“All of us could do with more information about mental wellbeing. Even if you don’t think you’re battling yourself, it can help you recognise others who are struggling. The workshop was absolutely inspiring, motivating and informative, and it gave me newfound confidence in terms of starting the mental health conversation. It encouraged me to talk to people that I’d been wondering about checking in with but didn’t quite know how, and it also gave us resources and tools to seek further help.”

These conversations are critical, especially in the construction sector, which has higher than average rates of depression and anxiety, and the highest suicide rate of all New Zealand industries, with 6.9% of working-age male suicides.

“My biggest takeaway was the importance of being there for each other - noticing if our work buddies are not themselves and then actually doing something about it. Sometimes we might notice, but don’t ask if people are okay because we don’t know how. GoodYarn gave us the skills to start the conversation.”

And for all those Kiwi workplaces who have not yet discovered GoodYarn, this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week could be the perfect time to do some research.

Catherine says, “If we want to make our workplaces the best they can be, it’s all of our responsibility to notice and check in on our buddies. If everyone in New Zealand could do this GoodYarn workshop, New Zealand would be a much better place.”

Find out more at: https://www.goodyarn.org/

To book a workshop with Education Unlimited visit - https://educationunlimited.co.nz/contact

‍