About
There are countless active supporters in the community who are vital to our ongoing existence. Their support reaches from generous donation of our office space to the work of our trustees and the contributions of local businesses some of which even offer work experience to our clients.
In 2016, we started out with just one full-time professional therapist (our director Tina Jones), who was then joined by three part-time therapists offering their time and expertise either as donation or for heavily reduced rates.
Within months mentors and supporters became attracted to our work, and supported us with cooked meals, donations of furniture and equipment, and reduced rent. Mentors came on board, showing our young clients different aspects of making one’s life worth living in small, ordinary ways. From painting together to going on walks or just sharing a coffee and listening.
Since moving from our initial offices to the current premises in Manly, and in response to (unfortunately) massively increasing need, we now employ three full-time registered therapists at heavily discounted rates, as well as a wellness coach and eight therapists on a part-time basis. In addition, there is a large team of support volunteers associated with our work.
Our Vision
All young people are strong, resilient, and capable of living a rich, full and meaningful life.
Our Mission
To provide a secure transitional pathway for young people who are risk of suicide to help them back on the road to recovery.
The people of Youth in Transition believe in our mission. Everyone including our therapists, executive director, administration providers, human resources, voluntary accounts staff and phone support live our heart cry of "people first."
Our management team includes expertise across the charity, finance, and business sectors. Additionally, our clinical team comprises a range of registered mental health practitioners.
Our therapists are an awesome group of people who are skilled, passionate and deeply empathetic. They provide specialist skills in assisting our clients to navigate their way to a successful life and career. We believe everyone needs a community where they feel they belong. Youth in Transition can be your community and we feel honoured to share The Journey Back to Awesome with you.
Our Story
Our story is told by the big hearts of people in our community and the generosity of a strong network of volunteers. What started with a few passionate individuals, quickly grew into a groundswell of people willing to help equip our young people with the skills and resources to get them back into a life worth living.
A Message from Our Founders
When we founded Youth in Transition, the youth suicide statistics across New Zealand were shamefully high, and the pain of young people dying by suicide was deeply felt in our Hibiscus Coast/North Shore community. When Brigitte’s son died, aged 19, the shock and sadness over his death was felt across our community and triggered us into action with a mission.
“To fund and deliver quality and timely mental health interventions so that no young people in our community would have to reach the point of crisis, and even more tragically die by suicide, through the lack of help or financial difficulties."
As we reflect on the achievements of the Trust over the past five years, it is truly remarkable to be part of an organisation that is energised by human kindness. Our army of therapists, volunteers and community helpers is the very heartbeat of our organisation who allow us to achieve our life-saving goals. It is so inspiring to work alongside so many who share our passion, and we are thankful to so many who give their time and services so willingly and for free.
We are immensely proud of the life-changing impact we have had on the lives of young people and their families in our community. The past year has been a difficult one for many due to the pandemic and our charity has certainly not escaped its effects. Our services have never been in greater demand. Without the dedication of our staff, volunteers, and Trustees, none of this would be possible and of course the continued generosity of all our supporters and funders to whom we offer a very special thank you
It continues to be a great privilege for me to witness so many of our young people find their way back to a life worth living. It’s an honour to be part of that journey and to hold the hope when they were unable to do it for themselves.
Tina Jones
YIT Director, Co-Founder
Remembering Nigel
A great man who was instrumental in the foundation of the Trust and sadly passed way in 2018. Nigel Rigg was so much more than our Chair. He was our beloved friend, tireless champion and humble benefactor. We are deeply honoured that Nigel was such a big part of this project. He was very hands on, giving so much of his time in helping vulnerable young people turn their lives around.
He was a man of substance and his tremendous courage to face any challenge made him a formidable presence, which will be sorely missed. He lived and breathed his passions, and we at Youth in Transition feel very privileged to have been one of them.
Our young people drew great strength from Nigel. here was a man fighting for his life whilst they wanted to give up theirs. It is through his dedication and commitment, that we have been able to help hundreds of local youth find a way back to a life worth living.
A Message from our Chair
Every act of service and offer to help a young person stems from kindness and care at a deep heart level. The choice to commit to Youth in Transition became easy for me as I observed the leadership, the focus and the results The Journey Back to Awesome has achieved. This is truly a project with the whole community at its heart and centre. Individuals and groups too many to mention are part of the rich spirit of care and concern which is our lifeblood. Our aim internally is to be out of business as soon as possible.
However, whilst there is an individual with a desire to discover a life worth living, our doors will always be open!
Over the last five years, the Trust has grown in size of volunteers, reputation, community support and ability to fund itself. We are extremely proud of our efforts and service in the community and firmly believe we have a service that is one that should be available to all the people of New Zealand.
Youth in Transition provides a working solution, a proven pathway and an offering to the public of New Zealand, having the resources to help our young people back into a life worth living.
Our current greatest need is one of consistent and greater funding. It is likely to be the cry of many charitable causes at present. However, with rise of anxiety, depression and sucidial tendencies in many New Zealand homes, the need couldn’t be greater.
Andrew Hoggard
YIT Chair
Our Logo
Our logo embodies our philosophy towards helping young people.
We all need a community we feel we belong to and we all need knowledge, skills and abilities to navigate the world in a meaningful way. The butterfly represents this learning as we renew ourselves from one phase of life to another.
The semicolon between the butterfly wings symbolizes a pause between two lives. Not a full stop, but an opportunity to take a pause, to gather strength and to move on with renewed energy and purpose. During this pause we all need to be held with love, care, skill and patience during a time where we feel we have reached the end of the road.
We believe in a holistic approach which considers the mind, body and external influences. our own experience backs up the academic literature which demonstrates approaches supporting all facets of life, are the ones that are most likely to lead to lasting positive changes.
