The ethos and mission that underpins Deacon Trust began in March 2016 with the first HeadSpace seminar. Supported by the Anglican and Catholic Dioceses and other churches, this was a day-long event to bring church and community leaders together to explore ways the churches and the community could be better equipped and resourced to support mental, emotional, and community health.

Over 200 attended the day, where speakers discussed fatigue, resiliency, emotional recovery, dealing with difficult situations or people, drugs and alcohol, and youth issues. The event culminated in a focus on hope and finding the way forward. Contributors included representatives from the Mental Health Foundation, Canterbury District Health Board, youth health and public health specialists, psychologists, He Waka Tapu, other professionals leading mental health organisations, and the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese.

As a result of the highly positive feedback received in completed questionnaires (87% indicated they felt better equipped to deal with mental health after the day, 98% indicated they would attend a second event), the convenor of the event, Dr Jeremy Baker, decided to continue the HeadSpace seminars. Eight further seminars between 2016 and 2019 were well-attended. Dr Baker began receiving requests, locally and from around Aotearoa, to teach seminars for NGOs and other like-minded groups. All such requests were driven by concerns about the growing rates of mental health problems and were seeking training in how to deal with them.

From the requests received over the years, the two key issues that emerged were the needs of people to learn self-reflection and self-care in regard to their own emotional wellbeing, and how to support others struggling in their own journeys. As a GP with 40 years’ experience specialising in mental health, Dr Baker had long observed the increasing urgency for better community and individual support, the degree to which existing systems of support were being overwhelmed or not meeting needs, and the need to train people little knowledge or experience to better cope. In his role as Clinical Lead Mental Health at Pegasus Health, he was also in a good position to evaluate the effectiveness of mental health services across the sector.

Following several years of extensive consultation with colleagues, other professionals, and multiple organizations, a steering committee was formed to facilitate the development of a training programme to equip and resource people to act as “mental health coaches.” The mental health coach/kaiāwhina (also known as a mental health support worker) provides support by walking a journey with a person: establishing trust, listening with empathy, responding appropriately in times of crisis or distress, and assisting with establishing links to therapeutic services. A mental health coach understands the key tenets of psychological and spiritual care, has pastoral skills, and is a reliable, trusted navigator of professional services.

In collaboration with the steering committee and with mental health nurse, mental health educator, psychiatrist, and personnel from several NGOs, Dr Baker designed a training programme for mental health coaches. Some key relationships in this process, among many others, have been with the Mental Health and Education & Resource Centre (MHERC), Workplace Support (a workplace wellbeing provider), Pegasus Health, various representatives of the Canterbury District Health Board, He Waka Tapu, Te Raranga (a network for church leaders), Petersgate Counselling Centre, Canterbury Men’s Centre, and Stepping Stone Trust (Community-based Mental Health Recovery services).

In 2020, Deacon Trust was incorporated as a charitable trust and a Strategic Plan was developed. The Deacon Trust Board provided governance and guidance for the teaching programmes and for various hui that continued to be held in a range of locations in order to ensure community consultation and awareness of the mental health coach role.

The pilot training programme (“HeartSpace”) successfully ran from February to October and provided the basis for the development of a second, more advanced course that further developed the skill levels of mental health coaches.

To mid-2022, introductory courses had been run for 208 attendees and training programmes for 116. Introductory courses, training, and several hui were run in Christchurch, Dunedin, Blenheim, and Nelson. Feedback from each event was highly encouraging and strongly emphasized the need to further develop the training and make it available to the wider community. To this end, the Board of Deacon Trust endorsed an application to become NZQA registered and accredited to deliver training and assess students for a qualification in the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Social and Community Services) (Level 4) (Mental Health and Addiction Support).

Concurrently with accredited courses working towards a qualification, Deacon Trust intended to continue running HeartSpace in its current format for those who preferred not to work towards a recognised qualification, require block course structure, or who attend block courses in locations outside Christchurch.

Deacon Training Academy (DTA) was established as a Private Training Establishment (PTE), and appointed a Manager to work alongside the Programme Director in delivering our training programmes. We also gained NZQA accreditation to run the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Social and Community Services) (Level 4) (Mental Health and Addiction Support). When our graduates achieve this nationally recognised qualification, they will be able to work professionally in communities, churches, mental health support organisations, for care providers, or in government services.

DTA is now taking enrolments for its first NZQA accredited Level 4 Health and Wellbeing Certificate course, commencing February 2025. We are now looking for students to study for this full time one year course.