Wellbeing doesn’t stop at the prison gate. A crowd- funding campaign from the YEPT.

The YEPT will take part in the Generosity Generator Fundraising Campaign from the 6 November to the 17th of November 2023. There are so many ways for you to get involved- through running a koha yoga class and sharing koha with the YEPT, through a donation, to sharing the campaign on your social media or maybe telling a journalist about our campaign!

This campaign is all bout wellbeing. At the YEPT we believe that wellbeing doesn’t stop at the prison gate. We would like help to reach more people in prison with our toolkit for change.

The Aotearoa that we dream of is a kinder place, where more of us, including people in prison, can access more tools to realise our potential, so we can be there for whānau and contribute to the wider community. To do this we need to better understand ourselves, and to address our mental health and wellbeing barriers.

Prisons have been described as the country's largest residential mental health service.  One in five New Zealanders experience mental illness in their lifetime. In prison these figures are significantly higher; more than nine out of 10 people had a lifetime diagnosis of a mental health or substance use disorder. 

The restrictive prison environment presents many challenges. With the support of yoga and meditation techniques we believe that these challenges can be transformed into spaces to reflect, to contemplate and to internally process attitudes and trauma. 

Our toolkit for change is already making an impact: 

“All of the [correspondence course] module was useful to me, mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I’m more aware internally and can control my thoughts  better than when I started”

“Yoga has helped me with my self-esteem and has given me at times, my only peace, and very often my only solace. I genuinely believe I am a better man due to this course”

Ultimately, with time, and expert tuition, people in prison can embark on a journey of personal growth and well-being that would otherwise not have been realised. Help us raise $10k to share our toolkit for change -  yoga and meditation education,  so that even more people in prison can improve their mental health and well-being.

Click here to donate or email us if you would like to get involved in other ways.