Almost 2,000 young people across Aotearoa accessed free counselling through Gumboot Friday in April alone, highlighting growing mental health pressures facing tamariki and rangatahi as demand for early support continues climbing nationwide.
New figures released by I Am Hope show 1,921 young people aged between five and 25 used the Gumboot Friday service during April 2026, with 2,956 counselling sessions delivered across the country.
The programme allows young people to access free counselling without needing a referral and gives them the ability to choose a counsellor from Gumboot Friday’s national network.
The latest data reveals mental health support is being sought by increasingly younger age groups.
Of those accessing counselling in April, 506 were aged between five and 11, accounting for more than a quarter of all users. Another 561 users were aged 12 to 17, while the largest group — 854 rangatahi — were aged between 18 and 25.
Mental health advocates say the numbers reflect the reality that children and young people are experiencing significant emotional pressure much earlier in life than previous generations.
I Am Hope founder Mike King says many young people are navigating an environment that feels overwhelming, fast-moving and emotionally intense, with early intervention playing a crucial role in preventing more serious mental health crises later on.
The figures come amid continued concern about youth mental health outcomes in New Zealand, where rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm and psychological distress among young people remain among the highest in the OECD.
Recent Ministry of Health and Youth19 survey findings have repeatedly shown worsening mental wellbeing trends among rangatahi, particularly following the social and economic disruption caused by the pandemic, rising living costs and increasing online pressures.
For Māori rangatahi, the challenges can be even more severe.
Māori youth continue to experience disproportionately high rates of mental distress, suicide risk and barriers accessing culturally safe mental health services. Advocates say colonisation, intergenerational trauma, poverty, racism and housing insecurity all contribute to inequitable outcomes.
Programmes like Gumboot Friday have become increasingly important because they reduce some of the barriers preventing young people from accessing help early, including long waitlists, referral requirements and affordability.
The service operates through Government-funded counselling support alongside wider community fundraising that helps sustain I Am Hope’s prevention programmes, school initiatives and operational infrastructure.
Mental health providers say early intervention is critical because many young people avoid seeking support until distress becomes severe.
Counsellors and youth workers are also reporting rising complexity among young clients, with issues increasingly linked to family stress, social media pressures, identity struggles, loneliness and financial hardship within households.
The latest counselling figures also arrive as political debate intensifies around the future of mental health funding and whether current services are adequately meeting demand.
Despite major investment into mental health over recent years, community organisations continue warning many young people still face long delays accessing specialist support through the public system.
Youth advocates argue accessible, community-based and culturally grounded support models remain essential, particularly for Māori and Pacific communities where trust in mainstream health services can be lower.
The figures from Gumboot Friday suggest many whānau are actively seeking help earlier — a shift mental health experts say is encouraging and potentially life-changing for long-term outcomes.
However, organisations working in the sector warn demand continues to outpace available workforce capacity, with shortages of counsellors, psychologists and youth mental health specialists remaining a major issue nationwide.
For many supporters, the latest numbers are both a sign of growing need and proof that accessible early support services are making a difference.
Mental health advocates say the challenge now is ensuring those doors remain open as pressures facing young people across Aotearoa continue intensifying.
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