The final round of funding for mental wellbeing initiatives to boost Southern Lakes communities, including Cromwell, opens in early April.

Run by Te Hau Toka Southern Lakes Wellbeing Group, the Connecting Communities fund supports community-led activities and events across Cromwell, Queenstown, Wānaka and Te Anau which encourage people to connect, look after each other and have fun. 

With Government funding coming to a close on 30 June, Te Hau Toka Chair Adell Cox said her team is focused on spreading as much value as possible in the final round to help keep people of all ages and stages well over the winter months and build ongoing social resilience.

“We’re mindful that this is our last big opportunity to help communities set themselves up to keep prioritising mental health and wellbeing and looking after each other beyond the end of our funding," she said.

“While we’re through the Covid pandemic, we know that our communities are still recovering and battling challenges like burnout, cost of living, loneliness and isolation, which continue to impact on their wellbeing.  

“Every community across the region is different and they’re best placed to know what works for them. We really want to hear their ideas, whether they’re new or carrying on with ones that are going really well.”

Adell is sad to see the end of Connecting Communities and says that since Te Hau Toka launched the model in November 2021 it’s become one of its most successful initiatives.

“It shows the power of supporting people to find their own solutions.

“We’ve seen how providing a little bit of money across a lot of people every few months has enabled communities to come up with their own innovative ways to combat the different mental health and wellbeing challenges they’re experiencing."

The final and eighth round of Connecting Communities funding round opens on April 8 and closes on April 18.

Eligible not-for-profit organisations and groups can apply for up to $1000 to assist with funding their activity or event.

The previous funding round in November 2023 saw a record $91,500 distributed across 110 initiatives. 

Cromwell recipients included carer get-togethers Cromwell; volunteer welfare resources for St John’s Central Otago Major Incident Support Team; and a range of community Christmas activities. 

A full list is online.

Information on applying is on the Southern Health webpage Wellbeing Support in Southern Lakes.