An artists impression of the Kahurangi - Canterbury's child and youth mental health community outpatient facility. Photo: Supplied
A former patient's experience in Christchurch's worn out, cramped mental health facilities for young people is driving him to help raise the funds needed for an upgrade.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, began to take over Jack Robinson's mind when he was just 15 years old, and he is determined to make the recovery journey easier for others.
The new out-patient facility kit-out at Hillmorton Hospital is being jointly funded by Te Whatu Ora and the Māia Health Foundation - but $1 million was still needed to get it done.
Jack excelled at school until OCD began consuming him.
During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, his relentless hand washing stripped away his skin, leaving his hands raw and bloody.
Jack Robinson on the grounds of Princess Margaret Hospital in Christchurch. Photo: RNZ/ Niva Chittock
"Everyone had to be doing it, but when I'm not leaving the house because I'm not allowed to leave the house and I'm still washing my hands every five minutes, it's a bit much," he said.
"Going through litres of hand soap every week is not a normal amount for one person."
Jack's mum, Kathryn Robinson, said when Jack broke his hand in early 2021, his symptoms rapidly worsened.
His OCD meant he could not bring himself to swallow.
"Some people say you fall down the hill with mental illness but Jack was like he literally rolled off a cliff," she said.
"It was so horrible, he was literally down to skin and bone - no eating disorder, but he couldn't swallow. So you can't eat, you can't ingest when you can't swallow."
By this point, Jack had lost 50kg.
His GP urgently referred him to Te Whatu Ora Canterbury's Child, Adolescent and Family mental health services.
Jack spent almost 11 weeks at Christchurch's Princess Margaret Hospital, which took a toll on his family.
"There were times while Jack was in the unit that were a real struggle. They were pretty bad," Kathryn said.
"It got to the point where I'd leave Jack after visiting and I'd sit in my car and just ... sob. It wasn't just a little cry, my whole heart was crying out. I just wanted my son back."
Jack with his mum Kathryn Robinson Photo: RNZ/ Niva Chittock
Little by little, with the help of the unit's staff, Jack got better.
He was discharged from hospital in July 2021 and graduated high school the following year.
"I have my beautiful, whole, healthy son back, full of mental health instead of mental illness," Kathryn said.
Deborah Selwood manages the service, which covers children under 18, and said Jack was far from alone.
"Demand and the complexity around that demand has really increased, so in the last year or so, we've had more than 4600 referrals into the service. That's absolutely extraordinary," she said.
Trauma from the Canterbury Earthquakes, Port Hills fires, mosque terror attacks and now Covid-19 was interwoven through the community, Selwood said.
She did not expect demand to drop off any time soon, either.
Deborah Selwood Photo: RNZ/ Niva Chittock
The current facilities at Princess Margaret - built in the 1950s - were far from ideal, said one of the unit's clinical psychologists, Amy Edwards.
"What we're currently working in was originally built as an adult inpatient unit. It's not fit for purpose, it's old and rundown," she said.
"We don't have the set up that we need for some of the therapies and things that we'd like to be doing. So when we move into our new space, we're going to have things like an occupational therapy room and a play room and a sensory room."
Amy Edwards Photo: RNZ/ Niva Chittock
The new unit, Kahurangi, was under construction at nearby Hillmorton Hospital, where the $16m facility was expected to open next year.
Kathryn Robinson hoped the new and improved space would help more rangatahi stay out of the in-patient service her son went through.
"The more youth that can be seen as soon as possible when they're referred, [that] will have such a flow on effect to the amount of youth that are in the in-patient unit. The out-patient unit can hopefully divert lots of those youth onto a path towards being well, without having to be an in-patient," she said.
"It's a real domino effect if we can get it right ... It would have such a positive impact on the future."
But the Māia Health Foundation said it still needed $1m to get it over the line.
Jack had already helped to raise more than $1000 towards the services and planned to keep his efforts up.
"I'm really hoping that I can have an impact on people going through the mental health process as well, because obviously I've been through it myself and I've got the insight and the understanding of what it really means to have a mental illness," he said.
"At the moment, I'm just really trying to help those in need and really give them hope."
For anyone struggling with their mental state, Jack's advice was to let friends and family know, even if it was just one person.
"Originally, I had one friend and one friend only that I told. And he would come up and visit every Saturday while I was in hospital, just to check up, play games, do whatever, just so that I knew someone was there," he said.
"Transitioning back to school, I opened up a bit more and all of the friends I told were super supportive and just glad to have me back.
"They had my back and since then, I've just gotten closer to all of those friends. It's definitely one of the most helpful things you can do."
Donations towards the unit can be made via Māia's Better Space appeal, here.
