People heal in different ways. This gives them different doors to walk through and opportunities to engage with.”
Johnnie Timu, Brown Pride
On January 22, Le Va hosted a welcome fono for recipients of the 2026 Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Fund.
The room was filled with anticipation as Leilani Fina’i Clarke, Le Va’s senior manager for suicide prevention – Pacific, took to the podium to give the warmest Pacific greeting to the representatives who came from across the motu.
Funded by Te Whatu Ora, Le Va’s Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Fund supports communities to create innovative and sustainable solutions to prevent suicide.
The words of Le Va’s chief executive, Mati Dr Elizabeth Mati, carried weight and hope as she acknowledged the community groups stepping up to protect their own.
“This morning is about so much more than a formal welcome. It is a moment of recognition. Recognition of Pacific-led leadership in action. Recognition of the deep cultural knowledge that lives and breathes within our communities. And recognition that when suicide prevention is grounded in our Pacific values it becomes powerful and lifesaving,” she said.
Cliff Thompson from NZRL shared his organisation’s journey of suicide prevention, supported by Le Va. He spoke of creating safe spaces in locker rooms and establishing a network of wellbeing champions throughout Aotearoa to help young athletes navigate into the support they need.
Johnnie Timu from Brown Pride used an analogy from waka ama, his passion for community protection evident in every sentence.
“Waka ama has a cool resemblance to a village mentality – everyone has a role to play, everyone matters, and if one person doesn’t do their job, the waka doesn’t move forward.”
He described the community groups as the pace setters for the suicide prevention fund, Te Whatu Ora as the powerhouse in the centre, and Le Va as the steering and direction.
This wasn’t just a welcome event. It was a promise – that our communities will stand together, that suicide prevention is the responsibility of us all, and that hope can be built one conversation, one connection, one fono at a time.
The next round of Le Va’s Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Fund is open from 10 February 2026 and will close on 3 March. You can find out more and apply here: Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund
2026 Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund recipients:
- Le Afio’aga O Aotearoa Trust – Pacific Village Stewards
- Brown Pride Charitable Trust – Yeah The Boys / Yeah The Girls
- The South Seas Health Care Trust – South Seas Healthcare Suicide Prevention Fund 2025 Application
- LeVaiOfHope – LeVaiOfHope
- Fua Creative Limited – ‘Pikitai kiho ‘ulungaanga faka fonua – Cling to your culture’
- Please Blow My Mind Limited – Suicide Prevention Starts at Home (S.P.S.H.)
- Love Somebody Charitable Trust – Fight the Good Fight – Suicide Prevention
- Flying Geese Trust – Wayfinding for Life
- Snapback Gym ‘Toe a’e se tofa’ Gym Trust – Faasoa Wellbeing Programme: Strengthening Pasifika Youth and Families
- Nevertheless Trust – Rainbow+ Competency Training
- Wellington Fitness Community Trust – Pasifika Power Project
- Bay of Plenty Youth Development Trust – AIGA youth resilience and suicide prevention programme
- New Zealand Rugby League – NZRL Wellbeing Waka & Framework
- Without Limits Learning – Simply L.O.V.E Parenting Programme
- NZ Warriors – ‘Resiliency for Industry’ Wellbeing
- Potplant Studio – Mental Health Plant Workshops
- Tongan Society South Canterbury – Prosperous and Thriving Families
- Moana Vā –Thrive Health and Wellbeing Programme
- Zeal Youth Trust – Aotearoa Lupe – Culture and Identity Programme 2024/25
For more than ten years, Le Va’s Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund has supported community groups to find their own innovative solutions to preventing suicide.
This year, following a robust application and evaluation process, Le Va has distributed nearly $900,000 across 11 community groups who will develop and deliver their initiatives through to the end of October 2025.
Funded by Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora, the fund aims to support Pasifika families and communities to prevent suicide by enhancing protective factors and reducing risk factors associated with suicide.
Although the provisional suicide rate for Pacific people showed a significant reduction in 2023, still too many Pasifika families are affected by the loss of a loved one from suicide.
The Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund prioritises groups who are known to be at higher risk of suicidal distress, including men, youth, Rainbow and rural communities, and people who have lived experience of suicidal behaviour.
Leilani Clarke, Le Va’s senior manager for Pacific suicide prevention, said, “Every year we receive an extremely high calibre of applications from our Pasifika communities, and this year was no exception.
“Grassroots local initiatives like these play such an important role in helping families, whānau and communities to build resilience and work collectively to reduce the risk of suicide.”
Congratulations to our 2024 Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund recipients:
- Bay of Plenty Youth Development Trust
- Moana Vā
- New Zealand Rugby League
- ONE NZ Warriors
- Outline Aotearoa
- PHAB Pasifika
- Potplants Studios
- Sisters United
- Tongan Society South Canterbury
- Without Limits Learning
- Zeal
Learn more about Le Va’s Pasifika Suicide Prevention Community Fund.
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