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MATES Cafe is here for you when you are going through crisis. We understand that we all go through challenges in life, just as you are and when we have, we have reached out to a MATE for support. MATES recognise the benefits of having someone to talk to and just being there for us. We therefore want to be there for someone else when they need a shoulder to lean on. After all, isn't that what MATES are for?
NOTE: If you either need a MATE or wish to become a MATE, please click on the buttons above respectively. 
All other enquiries please go to "Contact Us" or "Refer Someone" (under the contact tab)  Thank You.

Hawke's Bay NZ - MATES Cafe Network

A Call-Out to ALL!
Can You Spare ONE Hour of Your Life to Save a Life?

MATES Cafe is purely about saving lives. Do you realise that in 2017-2018 over 668 people in New Zealand chose to take their own life because they couldn't stand the emotional trauma they were undergoing. Many of these occurred because of relationship breakdown.

Over 16,280 New Zealanders have killed themselves  since 1985! 
One person has taken there own life on average every 18 hours over the last 33 years.(approx. 12,500 Men and 3,780 Women Suicides in same period) Age-standardised suicide death rate, 1996 - 2012 New Zealand

Enough is enough!
MATES has been operating for nearly 10 Years in New Zealand... we now need your help to drastically lower the suicide rate... are you with us?

Saving someones life can be to either:
  1. Help them navigate in a new direction, and potentially prevent them from killing themselves...
  2. Help them to find support and hope to move forward in rebuilding their new life...
  3. Help spare the pain and anguish of all those around them that will be affected for the rest of their lives, if they go through with it... spouses, ex-spouses, children, friends, friends of friends, workmates, colleagues, school friends many more...​
​

Hawkes Bay Region

MATES North Island Centres (Click Here)  /  MATES South Island Centres (Click Here)

Support Services in Hawkes Bay

LifeLine New Zealand Last updated 06/06/2013 LifeLine is here to listen to the unheard, to empower the caller to retake control of their situation, making callers aware of options rather than offering advice.

This provider offers a national helpline service.
  • Availability: 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Depression Helpline -  0800 111 757  Last updated 23/02/2012 The Depression Helpline and website are part of a national public health campaign called the National Depression Initiative. The website includes a self-test, resources, an interactive journal and links to other help services. The helpline is av...

This provider offers a national helpline service.
  • Availability: Helpline is available 8am to midnight daily. Website is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Lifeline Hawkes Bay Last updated 13/06/2013 LifeLine HB is a free 24/7 telephone counselling and crisis intervention service available to the community.

  • 1 Lee Road
  • Taradale
  • Napier
  • Availability: Office hours - Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm Counselling - 24/7.
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Napier Women's Refuge Last updated 14/01/2013 Women's Refuges work to raise public awareness of violence against women and children, promoting the prevention and elimination of violence, and the rights of women and children to care and protection. For support, please ring our Crisis Line: 080...

Approved Family Violence Provider
  • Availability: 24 hour crisis line.
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Victim Support - Central Hawkes Bay Last updated 27/07/2012 Victim support provides information, support and assistance to victims, witnesses, their families and friends. Victim Support also promotes victims' rights through raising public awareness and recognition of the effects of crime.


  • Availability: The Victim Support Service is available 24 hours, 7 days a week.
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Victim Support - Napier Last updated 27/07/2012 Victim support provides information, support and assistance to victims, witnesses, their families and friends. Victim Support also promotes victims' rights through raising public awareness and recognition of the effects of crime.


  • Availability: The Victim Support Service is available 24 hours, 7 days a week.
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Victim Support - Hastings Last updated 27/07/2012 Victim support provides information, support and assistance to victims, witnesses, their families and friends. Victim Support also promotes victims' rights through raising public awareness and recognition of the effects of crime.


  • Availability: The Victim Support Service is available 24 hours, 7 days a week.
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Hastings Women's Refuge Last updated 03/12/2012 Providing a supportive non-judgemental environment for women, children and whanau who are, or who have, experinced Domestic Violence. For support, please ring our Crisis Line: 068706024 or toll free on 0800 REFUGE ( 0800 733 843 ). In an emergency, ...

Approved Family Violence Provider
  • Availability: 24 hour Crisis and Support Line. Office Hours Mon to Fri 9am to 5pm.
  • Charges: Some charges may apply.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Te Kupenga Hauora-Ahuriri Last updated 19/04/2013 Te Kupenga Hauora - Ahuriri aims to manage a fully integrated system for the purchase and delivery of health, social and disability services all people within people within Te Whanganui A Orotu boundaries and nominated areas of Ngati Kahungunu, wi...

Approved Family Violence Provider
  • 5 Sale Street
  • Napier
  • Availability: 9am - 4pm, Monday to Friday.
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: Referral may apply.


SHINE: Safer Homes In New Zealand Everyday Inc Last updated 04/10/2012 Shine (Safer Homes In New Zealand Everyday) is making homes violence free. Shine offers a free national Helpline and a number of innovative services that work to stop domestic abuse.

This provider offers a national helpline service. Approved Family Violence Provider
  • Ground Floor
  • 409 New North Road
  • Kingsland
  • Auckland
  • Availability: Helpline ( 0508 744 633 ) is answered 9am - 11pm, 7 days a week . Our office hours are 8.30am - 5.00pm weekdays.
  • Charges: Some charges may apply.
  • Referrals: Referral may apply.
Pleroma Social Services Last updated 12/04/2013 Pleroma Social Services provides post crisis counselling, intervention programmes for families, children & teenagers, and social work support, men's support group, stopping men's violence programmes. Part of the LIVE HB collective of services.

Approved Family Violence Provider
  • 2 Knorp Street
  • Otane
  • Availability: 8.30am - 5.00pm. Monday to Friday.
  • Charges: Koha/donation may apply.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
DOVE Hawke's Bay Inc. Last updated 16/08/2012 DOVE Hawke's Bay is a social service agency specialising in the area of family violence, playing both an intervention and prevention role. It provides services to men, women and young people experiencing family violence with the emphasis on stoppi...

Approved Family Violence Provider
  • 37 Niven Street
  • Onekawa
  • Napier
  • Availability: 8am-4.30pm Monday to Friday
  • Charges: Some charges may apply.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Heretaunga Land Skills Trust Last updated 16/11/2012 Working with Intellectually Disabled and men affected by brain injury.

  • 100 Stock Road
  • Pakipaki
  • Hastings
  • 4172
  • Availability: Monday - Friday 8.00am - 4.00pm
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: No referral required.
Wairoa District Society on Alcohol & Drug Misuse Incorporated Last updated 15/04/2013 Supporting our communities whanau and individuals towards recovery.

  • Main Entrance
  • 75 Apatu Street
  • Wairoa
  • Availability: 8am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday
  • Charges: All services free of charge.
  • Referrals: No referral required.

Need Further Support - Click Here

Information about Hawkes Bay

Number of people counted

Total population
  • 147,783 people usually live in Hawke's Bay Region. This is an increase of 4,833 people, or 3.4 percent, since the 2001 Census.
  • Its population ranks 9th in size out of the 16 regions in New Zealand.
  • Hawke's Bay Region has 3.7 percent of New Zealand's population.
Population of Hawke's Bay Region and New Zealand, 2006 Census  Region/City/District New Zealand
  • Male  71,763  1,965,618
  • Female  76,020  2,062,329
  • Total  147,783  4,027,947
Māori ethnic population
  • 33,555 Māori usually live in Hawke's Bay Region, an increase of 1,467 people, or 4.6 percent, since the 2001 Census.
  • Its Māori population ranks 8th in size out of the 16 regions in New Zealand.
  • 5.9 percent of New Zealand's Māori population usually live in Hawke's Bay Region. 
Māori Population of Hawke's Bay Region and New Zealand, 2006 Census  Region/City/District New Zealand
  • Male  16,125  274,860
  • Female  17,430  290,469
  • Total  33,558  565,326
Note: The Māori ethnic population is the count for people of the Māori ethnic group. It includes those people who stated Māori as being either their sole ethnic group or one of several ethnic groups.

Number of dwellings counted
  • There are 55,527 occupied dwellings and 4,755 unoccupied dwellings in Hawke's Bay Region.
  • For New Zealand as a whole, there are 1,478,709 occupied dwellings and 159,276 unoccupied dwellings.
  • There are 480 dwellings under construction in Hawke's Bay Region, compared with 13,560 under construction throughout New Zealand.
Dwellings in Hawke's Bay Region and New Zealand, 2006 Census Dwelling status       Region/City/District New Zealand
  • Occupied Private dwelling  55,227  1,471,746    
  • Non-private dwelling  303  6,963    
  • Total  55,527  1,478,709
  • Unoccupied  4,755  159,276
  • Under construction  480  13,560
  • Total  60,759  1,651,542
Note: This data has been randomly rounded to protect confidentiality. Individual figures may not add up to totals, and values for the same data may vary in different text, tables and graphs. 


Hawkes Bay Region

Hawke's Bay (Māori: Heretaunga) is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.
The region is situated on the east coast of the North Island. The region bears the former name of what is now Hawke Bay, a large semi-circular bay which extends for 100 kilometres from northeast to southwest from Mahia Peninsula to Cape Kidnappers.

The Hawke's Bay region includes the hilly coastal land around the northern and central bay, the floodplains of the Wairoa River in the north, the wide fertile Heretaunga Plains around Hastings in the south, and a hilly interior stretching up into the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges.

The region's boundaries vary somewhat from the former provincial boundaries of Hawke's Bay, and some towns in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region to the southwest, such as Dannevirke and Woodville have a historical association with Hawke's Bay.[citation needed]

The region consists of Wairoa District, Hastings District, Napier City, and Central Hawke's Bay District, as well as the town of Taharua in Taupo District and the town of Ngamatea in Rangitikei District.

One trivial fact is that the region has a hill with the longest place name in New Zealand, and the longest in the world according to the 2009 Guinness Book of Records. Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukakapiki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­kitanatahu is an unremarkable hill in southern Hawke's Bay, not far from Waipukurau.

Economy The sub-national GDP of the Hawke's Bay region was estimated at US$4.3 billion in 2003, 3% of New Zealand's national GDP.[2]

History Hawke's Bay Province was founded in 1858 as a province of New Zealand, after being separated from the Wellington Province following a meeting in Napier in February 1858. The Province was abolished in 1876 along with all other provinces in New Zealand. It was replaced with a Provincial District.

On February 3, 1931, Napier and Hastings were devastated following New Zealand's worst natural disaster. An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale killed 256 people. Napier began re-building and now the city is world famous for its Art Deco buildings and celebrates its heritage each February with the Art Deco Weekend. An exhibition on the earthquake, its causes and impact, at the Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery is a popular destination for visitors from around the world.

Population A map showing population density in the Hawke's Bay Region at the 2006 census. The region's population is 155,300 from the June 2011 estimate.[1] Of these, 57,800 lived in Napier district and 74,300 lived in the Hastings district. The main urban areas are Napier and Hastings. Smaller communities include Wairoa, Taradale, Havelock North, Tikokino, Waipawa, Waipukurau, and Takapau. The region has a significant Māori population (24% of the total population at the 2006 census). A major local Māori tribe is Ngāti Kahungunu.

Climate and agriculture A Hawke's Bay vineyard in autumn. Maraetotara Falls, Hawkes Bay region. Hawke's Bay's long, hot summers and cool winters offer the best weather for growing grapes. The climate is dry and temperate. Hawke's Bay is renowned for its horticulture with large orchards and vineyards on the plains. In the hilly parts of the region sheep and cattle farming predominates, with forestry blocks in the roughest areas.

Culture The region is served by a variety of radio stations including Classic Hits 89.5, More FM, access station Radio Kidnappers and local station Bay FM. As well, most of the national commercial and non-commercial operators have transmitters covering the region. Hawke's Bay also has its own TV station, TVHB, which provides a mix of news and information programmes hosted by local personalities.

Hawke's Bay produces some of New Zealand's finest wines and once a year Harvest Hawke's Bay celebrates the fact by offering a three day wine and food festival. This event attracts many thousands.[citation needed]

Napier is home to the annual Mission Concert held early each year. The event held at the Mission Estate Winery in Taradale has attracted big names over the year's including Kenny Rogers, Shirley Bassey, Rod Stewart, The B-52's, Belinda Carlisle, Ray Charles, and Eric Clapton. Each concert is attended by around 25,000 people. The 2009 concert attraction was to be Lionel Richie, but the concert was cancelled because of rain.

Sport As throughout New Zealand, rugby union is the most popular sport. The Hawke's Bay Magpies play in New Zealand's annual professional domestic rugby union competition, the ITM Cup. The team represents the Hawke's Bay region in provincial representative rugby, and draws its players from the constituent clubs who are affiliated to the provincial union. The team play their home matches in McLean Park in Napier. Players representing Hawke's Bay are also eligible to play for the Hurricanes franchise in the annual transnational Super Rugby competition. Hawke's Bay has produced a number of notable All Blacks, including Cyril Brownlie, Maurice Brownlie, Mark Donaldson, and more recently, Bryn Evans, Greg Somerville, and current All Blacks Israel Dagg and Zac Guildford. The Hawke's Bay Hawks compete in New Zealand's National Basketball League.

Medicine Hawke's Bay has a useful and innovative approach to community-wide care of diabetes mellitus featuring shared records held in a web-based computer system.[citation needed]

Wine Inside a Hawke's Bay winery Missionaries in the mid 19th century planted the first vines. Hawke's Bay and it is now becoming an important place for full bodied red wines.[3] As of January 2010, there is an estimated 74 wineries located across Hawke's Bay.[4]