Kāpiti College's head of school Amy Skipper is campaigning for the voice of youth to be heard in the fight for mental health support in Aotearoa.

Having handed a petition to Parliament last year demanding an increase in funding for mental health services, Amy is continuing to spread her message that the voice of youth should be listened to by starting the Mental Health Matters Initiative.

Since creating the petition, Amy has been vocal about her own experiences struggling with mental health, something she's wrestled with from age of seven onwards.

The petition received 1358 signatures and was handed to Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick and Act deputy leader Brooke van Velden, with MPs Matt Doocey and Mark Cameron also present.

Amy Skipper handing her petition over to MPs on Parliament's steps.

"From this, I noticed there was a massive group of people who supported the idea.

"Presenting the petition and having my voice heard by adults also showed me I was worth it."

Struggling with anxiety since the age of seven, Amy's health improved after a visit to her GP - but at the age of 15, Amy went back, this time with anxiety and depression.

"There was this disparity between people telling me to go get help, and when I went to get help, it was very hard to find.

"There were massive wait times, and actually getting help was really hard."

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Amy went to her GP and was referred to a councillor, but found the appointment very shallow.

"It was almost like they were following a script, and by the end of it, I completely removed myself.

"I thought, 'This isn't going to work', and my mental health continued to deteriorate because I was just bottling everything up.

"We tried to get another appointment, but by that point, the councillor was too busy and we couldn't get an appointment for a few months.

"I had the privilege that my family could take me to a private therapist, but that is not an option for so many people because of the cost."

While dealing with her own mental health is still an ongoing process, Amy now has the mental health support she needs, privately funded - yet many people are not able to get that support because they cannot afford to go private.

"That was something that didn't sit right for me - that access to mental health care wasn't a right, it was a privilege, because in order to get help, either you had to be super high-risk or you had to pay your way into it.

"That's evidence of the massive under-resourcing."

Amy said it was "very daunting" sharing her story alongside the petition, but the day after she shared it, she found all the comments were very positive.

"It was surreal having so much support."

From here, Amy was selected to speak at TEDxKāpiti, where she continued to share her story but with a focus on why youth voices are important in this mental health crisis.

"I spoke about why it's important we [youth] have a platform to get our voices out there."

Creating the Mental Health Matters Initiative, Amy said it is in its very early days, with the end goal being to continue to raise awareness and get youth voices out there.

"We have amazing organisations like Gumboot Friday and Voices of Hope, and I think they're doing incredible work looking at the issue holistically, but I really wanted to create a space where it didn't feel like adults talking to us about this issue, but rather it was young people coming together, saying, 'This is something we are all facing and we are all in this together'.

"This is about providing a space where it's okay to share your experience so people know they're not alone, and then sharing where they can get support from places like Youth Line, or locally, Kāpiti Youth Support."

Being chosen as this year's head of school [head girl] at Kāpiti College, Amy said sharing her experience has helped her become a good leader.

"Sharing my story gave me a lot of confidence in myself, which I think is really important when being a leader.

"You have to be sure of yourself to be able to lead others, and I guess the teachers choosing saw me as able to talk about these things."

Organising Wellbeing Week at Kāpiti College, Amy and the organising crew ran events that were all about 'filling your bucket'; helping students work out what makes them happy.

Follow Mental Health Matters Initiative on Instagram to support Amy's efforts and learn where you can get support.