Youth MP passionate about creating more accessible mental health services for young people
Emmogen Mckay is a Youth MP selected by Rachel Boyak, the MP for Nelson. She is a Year 13 student who attends Nayland College in Stoke.
By Emma Westenra, Youth Press Gallery, New Zealand Youth Parliament
Photo Caption: Emmogen Mckay, Youth MP
Mckay first found out about Youth Parliament through a family friend and decided to apply. Part of her application process involved doing a speech for a panel of judges, so she decided to do her speech on the topic of youth mental health.
“I did my speech on mental health and more specifically, how we have a lack of infrastructure in the way we provide help for people,” Mckay says.
Mckay is passionate about creating more accessible mental health services for young people, an issue she has personally experienced.
“Something I’ve encountered is the cost barriers in finding something that works.”
Mckay will be using her three-minute speech in Parliament to bring more awareness to youth mental health.
Mckay is also a part of the Parliamentary Working Group on housing. The group has the chance to debate ideas on how to best increase the amount of housing to ease pressure on the market.
Mckay is concerned about the affordability of housing and homelessness. When it comes to housing in her hometown she has noticed “a lot of new houses being built but also an increase in homelessness”. She wants to understand more about what barriers are stopping people from getting housing.
And for young people, the “far-off dream of having their own house may seem kind of out of reach,” she says.
Mckay is looking forward to connecting with the other Youth MPs. She thinks that being a Youth MP is a great opportunity to contribute to youth engagement within politics.
Mckay feels that democratic participation can be daunting, and she wants young people to feel that they have a place in politics, and to feel more confident and motived to participate in voting.