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Matt's
Legacy
Matthew Skellern, born in Wellington and brought up in Auckland, was a successful town planner and sportsman, and a member of the New Zealand Planning Institute and Surf Protection Society’s executive committees.
Matt was an incredibly dedicated, compassionate and perceptive student and practitioner of planning and resource management in New Zealand.
Our
Vision
As a family, we lacked education and knowledge about bipolar after Matt was diagnosed. As a family we lacked support about how to best deal with the extreme moods and resulting actions that someone with bipolar presents.
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We believed there had to be a better way. We believe that if some things had been different Matt might still be with us. We are not blaming anyone but want to share our learnings.
We established the Matt Skellern Bipolar Trust to advocate and help ensure that no other family operates `in the dark’ when dealing with mental health issues.
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We wanted to share our family experience in the hope that it would create new solutions to address the suicide epidemic sweeping through Aotearoa.
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We want to see more community-centred services, led by community members and supported by professionals.
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We believe it’s going to take deep change at the society and community level to create environments where all young people re-ignite their hope and can see a pathway towards living a happy life. We want to live in a country where no young person takes his or her life.
The trust’s objectives, therefore, are:
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To promote the wellbeing of people with mental health issues such as bipolar, depression and anxiety - and also families affected by mental health
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To inspire new and effective mental health services – such as moving more mental health care into the heart of the community and making sure the focus is clearly on early intervention
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To contribute to reducing the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health – let’s drop the labels that separate and isolate people
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To stimulate public interest, understanding and education in mental health through the media and other channels
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To promote mental health and wellbeing education in schools
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To establish sanctuaries where people can go to rest, recover and create strong foundations to then step back in to the daily life with confidence.
