COVID-19 had a significant impact on lives in Aotearoa New Zealand, and presented unique challenges for ethnic communities.

The Ministry for Ethnic Communities partnered with Manatū Hauora - Minsitry of Health to both educate and vaccinate throughout the pandemic. To further support our communities, we are releasing a series of videos to increase awareness of the available health services you can access.

In this video, we’ll share information about Mental Health support services in Aotearoa New Zealand.

During the pandemic, for many of us, we were unable to visit family overseas and we were isolated from loved ones for a significant period of time.

We were also unable to gather at our gurdwaras, temples, mosques, churches, synagogues, and other places of worship, which for many of us, is integral to our sense of identity, belonging and wellbeing.

The extended periods of isolation and lockdowns have resulted in increased bouts of anxiety and depression and for some of us, there is still a lot of anxiety and concern about reconnecting and engaging with others in person.

We recommend talking to someone if you’re not feeling well.

Calling 1737 or visiting www.1737.org.nz is a good place to start. 1737 is a Government-funded free counseling service available to everyone.

You can also access Diversity Counselling New Zealand’s counselling services which are available by phone, face-to-face, and online. This is a free service that is accessible nationwide.

Services are provided by ethnic, registered professional counsellors and clinical psychologists in the following languages:

For any other languages, Diversity Counselling New Zealand use professional interpreters.

To find out more information about this service and to access their free counselling, you can visit their website at  https://dcnz.net/ or give them a call freephone on 0800 143 269.

For any other health needs call Healthline on 0800 611 116. Interpreting services will be available if you need them.