The Collaborative Trust

05/06/2026

We are incredibly proud of our Wāhine Toa, Peggy Tombs, who recently opened the evening with a beautiful karakia at the very first performance held at .

Peggy also shared a powerful poem from This is How it Feels: Voices of Lived Experiences of Mental Distress, bringing her insight, courage, and authenticity highlighting the importance of performing arts in the healing journey.

Since joining Collaborative Trust as a youth tutor and researcher in 2021, Peggy has been passionate about empowering rangatahi and helping young people build strong, supportive relationships within their communities. Much of her work and community involvement has focused on kaupapa that support rangatahi Māori wellbeing.

Peggy is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Political Science and Māori and Indigenous Studies.
We are honoured to have Peggy as part of our whānau and to see her sharing her voice and leadership in the community.

Ka rawe, Peggy! 💙

05/06/2026

We are incredibly proud of our Wāhine Toa, Peggy Tombs, who recently opened the evening with a beautiful karakia at the very first performance held at YouthHub CHCH.

Peggy also shared a powerful poem from This is How it Feels: Voices of Lived Experiences of Mental Distress, bringing her insight, courage, and authenticity highlighting the importance of performing arts in the healing journey.

Since joining Collaborative Trust as a youth tutor and researcher in 2021, Peggy has been passionate about empowering rangatahi and helping young people build strong, supportive relationships within their communities. Much of her work and community involvement has focused on kaupapa that support rangatahi Māori wellbeing.

Peggy is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Political Science and Māori and Indigenous Studies.

We are honoured to have Peggy as part of our whānau and to see her sharing her voice and leadership in the community.

Ka rawe, Peggy! 💚

fans

03/06/2026

FREE Positive Youth Development Training!

Hosted in conjunction with Rerenga Awa Canterbury Youth Workers Collective, this full day 2-for-1 positive youth development and bi-cultural workshop is for anyone working with or alongside rangatahi.

Suitable for youth-serving kaimahi across all sectors, including youthwork, education, sport, health, community, and social service settings, this practical and reflective workshop gives you a strong understanding of youth development principles, greater confidence in your practice, and practical insights that can be applied immediately within your own setting and role.

Positive Youth Development in Aotearoa (PYDA) training is a 'must do' professional grounding for anyone working with young people.

Tues 9th June
9-4pm
Hagley Multicultural Centre
455 Hagley Ave, Chch

To register, click on the link in the comments 👇

20/05/2026

So good to celebrate by catching up with some of our new Youth Tutors to hear what they think adults really need to know. 🎙️

Led by our experienced Youth Tutors, Mel and Julia, we had some great kōrero about the issues affecting rangatahi right now, and how parents, teachers, health practitioners, and other adults can better support young people and talk about the things that matter most.

Over the next few weeks, our Youth Tutors will be sharing more about what’s important to them, what young people need, and how we can all do better at listening.

We’re so excited to have you on board, Oliver, Anna, and Khadija!

“Our voices matter! We deserve to be heard | Taringa whakarongo! Ki te reo o ngā taiohi!”

Thanks for having us

youthsector

15/05/2026

New Blog: When school feels too hard…. 😬

School refusal (or school can’t) is not "just wagging". For many teens, the school day is full of transitions - moving between classrooms, teachers, subjects, and social spaces.

For anxious or neurodivergent students, these transitions can be some of the most challenging part of the day.

We’ve put together some strategies to help make transitions easier for teens at school.

Check out the link in the comments section
👇👇👇

fans

14/05/2026

Today is Pink Shirt Day 2026 💗

Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora - Speak Up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying! 🫶

With 1 in 5 young people affected by bullying, now is the time to open up the kōrero and work together to create communities where everyone feels safe, supported, welcomed, and included.

Let’s celebrate diversity in all its forms and support our schools, workplaces, and communities to be places of kindness and belonging.

For practical tips and ways you can help, head to - thanks to for leading this important kaupapa.

And thanks to our models Lisa, Mel & Julia for being our lovely models 😊

13/05/2026

Ara Taiohi - Peak Body for Youth Development Youth Week 2026 is coming up fast 💨

Check out their page for all of the events and get involved!

Canterbury is stacked this Youth Week 💥

See what’s on via the Youth Week Calendar: https://www.arataiohi.org.nz/youth-week/youth-led-events 👀

🎵 – Youth Hub Live: Event Centre Opening Showcase on 23 May (Youth Hub Christchurch)
🏃– Ride It Out on 22 May (CAW Mentoring)
🏃– Student Splash on 23 May (Selwyn District Council)
🏃– Female Self-Defence on 18 May (Selwyn District Council)
🏃– Youth Boxfit on 20 May (Selwyn District Council)
🎤– Hot Takes and Hot Pools on 20 May (Christchurch Youth Council)
🎤– Youth Impact Awards on 22 May (The Y Central South Island NZ)
🎨– Youth Art Exhibition on 18 May (Papanui Youth Development Trust)
🎤– I.LEAD Showcase Day on 21 May (I Lead)
🏃– Ngā Tākaro Maia on 24 May (Waihora Kī o Rahi)

13/05/2026

How cool 🙌 Our ADHD expert Jacqui recently featured on the No Such Thing as Normal podcast with Sonia Gray.

Parenting neurodivergent teens is hard, especially if you’re neurodivergent too!
Add in menopause and things can really get interesting 😝

Jacqui & colleague Fiona are taking their ADHD & Menopause workshop - A Hot Mess - around NZ and next up is Tauranga and Hamilton!!

Join them for a real, relatable, evidence-informed workshop exploring the overlap between ADHD, hormones, executive functioning, wellbeing, and midlife changes.

Book via Humanitix or email [email protected]

Mental Health Podcast · Updated Weekly · At least 20% of New Zealanders are believed to be neurodivergent, but there is very little awareness, understanding and support for people with conditions such as ADHD, Autism and Dyslexia. Sonia Gra...

07/05/2026

‘It's not experiences that make us feel in certain ways, It's the thoughts we have about these experiences’. 😔😅😬

Big emotions don’t come from experiences alone - they also come from the thoughts, beliefs, and interpretations we attach to those experiences.

That’s why helping teens accurately identify what they’re feeling is such an important skill. Tools like Feelings Wheels can support young people to move beyond “good” or “bad” and build a deeper understanding of their emotions, what’s driving them, and what they might need in that moment.

When we encourage teens to explore their beliefs, perspectives, and past experiences, we help them recognise how these shape their reactions and opinions. Learning to question internal biases and think critically about expectations can create more flexibility, resilience, and self-awareness - especially during challenging moments.

These are skills that support emotional intelligence for life.

If you’d like to learn more about supporting teens with emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and managing big emotions, we’d love to connect.

And check out Sarah’s video on our previous post!