A teenager who has spent his entire life in the care of the state says the government is failing to address the mental health of young vulnerable people.
A report from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission found that one in four young people in need of mental health care were being admitted to adult services due to a lack of age-appropriate units around the country.
Read the full report: Te Huringa Tuarua Youth Services Focus Report
Ihorangi Reweti-Peters, 17, has lived in care since he was only a few months old.
His memories of foster care were a ‘living nightmare’, the Christchurch teenager said.
“I had a rough time in care. I was faced with racism, discrimination, physical, emotional and on one count sexual abuse.
“Those experiences in family homes, in foster homes were awful and no young person should have faced what I have.”
Reweti-Peters spoke last year