Good Place to Start will provide faster access to support

SECTOR UPDATE - Hon Matt Doocey | Minister for Mental Health

New Zealanders will soon be better connected to mental health and addiction support through Good Place to Start, a new AI-enabled navigation platform designed to help people find trusted information and connect with available support, Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey says.

“Good Place to Start is about making that first step easier for people who may not know where to turn for support. We know that unmet need isn’t always about a lack of available services. Often, it’s about people not knowing where to go or who to talk to,” Mr Doocey says.

“Not knowing where to go or who to talk to has been reported as the reason for unmet mental health needs in one third of children and more than a quarter of adults.

“That’s why making it easier for people to know what support is available is so important. Good Place to Start is designed to be a digital front door, using a guided conversation to help people connect in with the support that’s right for them.

“Digital tools aren’t a replacement for clinicians, but they can make it easier for people to reach the support that is already available.

“The Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund was created to back new ideas from the sector and test different ways of improving access to support.

“Good Place to Start is a great example of this in action, with Whakarongorau Aotearoa developing the platform with significant input from people with lived experience.

“From today, around 40 people with lived experience will begin testing the platform as part of a controlled release.

“This is an important opportunity to hear directly from users about what works, what needs improving and how we can make the platform as accessible as possible.

“Work will continue on privacy, security, clinical safety and AI assurance throughout the testing period, with wider public access planned for late November.

“The goal is simple – make it easier for people to find the right information, understand their options and connect with support earlier.

“Building the future of mental health support means being willing to test new ideas and use technology where it can make a real difference.

“Good Place to Start is an example of how we can use innovation to make it easier for people to take that first step when they need help.”

Good Place to Start has been developed by Whakarongorau Aotearoa in partnership with Valentia Technologies and Spark Health, with Changing Minds contributing to codesign, testing and naming of the platform. Healthify and Healthpoint have also supported the integration of trusted health information and service pathways.

The platform does not provide diagnosis, clinical advice, treatment, counselling or crisis support. Where urgent needs are identified, it directs users to appropriate urgenthelp pathways.

Source: Hon Matt Doocey | Minister for Mental Health media release

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