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At least one member of the Due Drop Hope Challenge team, which will pass through the Mahurangi region this week, will be on familiar territory.
Omaha real estate agent Richard Hart is one of the six athletes who together are attempting a 16-day relay to swim/bike/run the length of the North Island.
The challenge is the first of its kind and has been organised to raise awareness about the struggles young people face accessing counselling, despite a $1.5 billion investment by the current government.
The team is due to leave Cape Reinga tomorrow (April 11) and is expected to do a swim leg at Omaha on Friday (April 14) around midday.
Hart says there is a calendar on the Due Drop Hope Challenge website and a tracker so people can follow the team.
“The plan is to swim from Ti Point to the Omaha Surf Club en route to the Auckland CBD,” he says. “We will be hard to miss as there are huge logistics and sign written support vehicles.”
Other members of the team include former All Black Ian Jones and former world triathlon champion Rick Wells, as well as David Mitchell, Geoff Evison and Karim Rostrami.
The event will conclude with a hīkoi to Parliament led by I Am Hope and Gumboot Friday founder Mike King. King will meet with a government representative to convey the group’s concerns regarding the critical need for leadership and decisive action on improving youth mental health in New Zealand.
King says the wait times for kids to see a mental health professional are getting longer and there is a growing reliance on medication to fill the void.
“This challenge is the ideal opportunity to promote our free counselling service Gumboot Friday and inform Kiwis that there is an alternative to these excruciatingly long wait times and medication,” King says.
Hart says he was motivated to join the challenge to support the I Hope charity.
“We have all seen how bad the state of our mental health system in NZ is and the damage it does to families, from suicide in particular,” he says.
“It’s not all just about raising funds, but also about talking to people about the issues.
“Alongside this, it is also a way of challenging ourselves (the team members), as we get a little older and on the wrong side of 50, to keep creating personal goals.”
Supporting the team
The Due Drop Hope Challenge team is asking people to share their website (https://www.gumbootfriday.org.nz/hope-challenge) with friends and family, and come out and give them a wave when they pass by. The team is stopping at 16 towns along the way where they will hold discussions about mental health and how to inspire young people. Details about these discussions, which will be held from 4.30pm to 5pm each day, will be on the website. This is also where you will find a link to donate to the cause.
