Malachi | Māngere, Auckland

“On the top of my head I could think of numerous times, but a specific time is when one of my mates, he’s pretty hard out, he’s a tough man, but he came up to me one time and he spoke his heart, and I felt real proud of that, because I never thought that a person like him, with his background, and the way he was living, never thought he would speak out.

That’s a moment I felt proud of, because he approached me. I was just there at the right time, and I spoke, that’s a personal story to me.

I know that we are all the same, no matter what background you come from. We still feel pain. We still feel happiness, sadness. There’s a whole lot, you know, that I could think of but just honesty can come from anybody.

Sorry. I lost my cousin, because I didn’t talk to her. I feel bad about that. I just remember seeing her like, a month before she did it. We were drinking. We were smoking. And so I encourage a lot of people to speak up, whether it’s me, their parents, or their partner. Whether it’s a kid. Just speak up. Write it down. I don’t want to attend another funeral like that. Sorry about that.

I grew up just off Massey Road, stayed at that house since I could remember. My family used to stay there. My cousins, my uncles, aunties. Everyone’s passed through there, but personally my daughter is what means everything to me. I’d drop everything for her, whether it’s my career, whether it’s people I guess. You know? That’s my main goal. My nieces, my nephews, kids in general, I guess. Adults can hold themselves.”

*** If you, or someone you know, needs help you can text or free call 1737 at anytime to talk to, or text with, a trained counsellor***