At Te Tahi Youth you will be seen, heard and respected. Whoever you are now, whoever you become – you can be you. We want you to feel safe here so that you have someone you can trust. It’s our mission to help Ōtautahi rangatahi be the best version of themselves. So every day we come to work to be your allies, supporters and champions.
Behind Te Tahi Youth is the Te Tahi Youth Board. We are a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to help Ōtautahi rangatahi be the best version of themselves.
To achieve that, we adopt the values of C-A-R-E.
Compassion: Your wellbeing matters to us so we will go over and above to make sure you get the help you need.
Acceptance: Nobody judges anybody; Te Tahi Youth is an inclusive place where everyone is equal and welcome to be who they are.
Resilience: We stick with you through the good times and the hard times.
Encouragement: Don’t stress about being perfect, as long as you are making progress.
Find out more about our work and the difference we make in our latest annual report.
Our team is made up of doctors, nurses, counsellors, youth workers and social workers. They are highly trained and experienced at helping young people be healthy inside and out. We help you grow and back you 100% while you work towards your goals. And it’s all free.
Senior Nurse / Clinical Lead
Youth Health Nurse
General Practitioner
Sexual Health Doctor
Healthcare Assistant to Clinical Team
Social Worker
Dr Sue Bagshaw was working at Family Planning NZ, doing all she could to improve access to sexual and reproductive services for women. She found for many women, if they didn’t feel comfortable with their GP, or didn’t have a GP, they didn’t know where to go. She knew something had to change, and her mission began.
Sue researched a youth one-stop-shop model operating in the US and Australia, and she knew she was onto something. She surveyed young people and from that designed a wider youth service. After three years of pitching her idea of a youth one-stop-shop to funders, she achieved success. 198 Youth Health opened. The vision? To provide free, accessible health services for young people.
That was back in 1995 when we were based in the bottom of an historic building on Hereford Street. Today, while the name and people may have changed, our vision hasn’t. We are still here to provide free, accessible, non-judgmental youth health services to young people in Ōtautahi, Christchurch.
Our journey, however, hasn’t been easy. Funding was gained, funding was lost. There have been times we’ve had to close our doors. But we re-emerged better, stronger and more focused that ever before. In 2012 we became 298 Youth Health on Barbadoes Street and then in 2019 we moved to our Bealey Ave site.
And as our journey has evolved, so have our services. Today, we are a truly holistic service. For those young people we work with, we work with the whole person. We offer medical, mental health, mentoring and employment services so whatever they need, we are here.
And what about the future? It’s looking pretty fab. We are now Te Tahi Youth – a name that embraces the entirety of who we are and what we do. And what about Dr Sue? She’s still here. But she’s not Dr Sue anymore. She’s Dame Sue Bagshaw and is our Patron.
And Dr Sue’s latest project? She’s building a Youth Hub for Christchurch. A place to connect multiple youth services including mental health, medical health, education, employment and training, transitional housing, recreation, creativity, and social entrepreneurship in one place. Phew! It’s a big job. But Sue will get it done and we’re excited about the opportunity to be one of the tenants in this amazing new complex.
For more information about the Youth Hub click here.
