CHAPTERS.

At Chapters we believe that no matter how difficult things get, our stories are not yet complete – the next Chapter is still to be written. 

“The ellipsis is a punctuation mark, one of continuance. It means ‘to be continued’; that there is more to come. It makes you think about what is yet to happen in your life, what could happen tomorrow; everything you have yet to see, experience. Your story isn’t finished yet, and you won’t know what could come if you’re not here to see it. To see what’s after your ellipsis, you have to Live For Tomorrow…” – Grace King, 17

The objective of Chapters is to build a self-perpetuating culture of inclusion and empathy in New Zealand secondary schools where all young people feel respected, valued and supported. Good eh!

There is no cost to run a Chapter! Setup resources and training can be found for free throughout the Chapters website. Ongoing support is available by emailing us.

Chapters is run by Live for Tomorrow, the youth mental health project of Zeal Education Trust. It was formed out of support from the Like Minds, Like Mine community partnership fund, and initially assisted in its implementation by 24-7 Youth Work.

In partnership with young people and staff at your school, starting a Chapter involves facilitating initial training, ensuring frequent meetings happen during term time, and providing support for young people to deliver initiatives throughout the year. 

Short version: real important. Long version: an inclusive school community mitigates the shame attached to going through different forms of mental distress (hard times of mental health). Stigma and discrimination is the greatest barrier to recovery as it keeps people from asking for help. Removing the barriers to recovery leads to greater wellbeing for individuals and a flourishing school.

Each Chapter has around 6-8 members who will create and deliver initiatives to make their school a more inclusive and empathetic place.

Peer support is not the objective of Chapters, and is not a substitute for the support services currently provided within your school. Naturally, however, Chapter members will experience a feeling of wanting to support each other in the way that friends do. Chapter members can access training in how to, if approached, safely refer peers to existing services.

As Chapters exist in partnership, for a new Chapter to begin it needs school administrative endorsement. Over the course of the school year the Chapter will also seek permission from the school administration to run initiatives. It should also be expected that Chapter members will attend training facilitated by the Chapters staff member during school hours.