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May 23, 2022
Village app helps rangatahi get support
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira
Posted On May 23, 2022
Download AudioA new app aims to address an epidemic of self-harm among rangatahi.
Starship Foundation and ASB Bank funded the development of Village, which connects users with a network of trusted friends or whānau.
Child psychiatrist Dr Hiran Thabew says since the start of the pandemic rates of self-harm has increased by 25 per cent among 15-19-year-olds and 50 per cent for 10-14-year-olds.
He says when times are tough for everyone it can be hard for young people to speak out, especially on conventional social media platforms.
“We probably won’t have the same conversation with 100 followers as we will with the one or two people we trust. An app like Village is hopefully meant to make it easier to start a conversation with a group of people we trust and to get support from people we feel close to and also for those people to feel they have some value to your life and we can do something that actually helps you,” Dr Thabrew says.
Village is available on the App Store and Google Play.
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