Choices

Kites fosters the development of new services that enable people who experience mental illness to choose a service that will suit their lifestyle, rather than the person having to fit the service provided.

Housing Choices

A secure home is important for our well-being. Kites believes that people who experience mental illness have the right to live in appropriate, long-term and affordable housing. we advocate for the separation of tenancy and support to ensure people can receive the support they want while maintaining rights as tenants.

Employment

In 2000, a survey in the Wellington region sought the views of people who experience mental illness on employment. Findings showed people clearly wanted work, or to increase the number of hours they were working. However, many respondents had not applied for a job in the previous six months, indicating significant barriers were preventing people from achieving their employment goals. Kites has developed a range of responses to this issue, see the Employment page for details.

Consumer-run Services

People who experience mental illness want to participate in the planning, funding, delivery and leadership of mental health services. There is a growing number of consumer-run businesses and services all over the world. Literature demonstrates that these services can be of immense benefit to people’s recovery.

Kites encourages consumer leadership and consumer-run services. Buddies, a consumer-run volunteer peer support programme, will be available to people who are using acute in-patient services.