Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - BONUS: Mike King Needs Your Help This Gumboot Friday.

Episode Date: November 3, 2022

We chat to Mike King, the head of Gumboot Friday and I AM HOPE, ahead of Gumboot Friday as they try and raise $5million for New Zealand.   Text Boots to 469 for a $3 donationSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hits, with a bonus podcast from Jono and Ben. It's Gumboot Friday today, and Mike King joins us in the studio. Always nice to see you, Mike. Happy Gumboot Friday, guys. Yeah, same to you. It's lovely being in here in your lush suite. I've never seen a suite this, like, you have the second biggest suite in the whole building after Mike Hosking.

Well, yeah, we don't. Really, do we? You do. I've been in them all. So you guys must be powerful. We don't have the helicopter to drive us home like Mike was. Oh, you've always got to beat the traffic. The traffic's always bad in the mornings.

Now, Mike, how have you been, mate? You've gone viral this week with a piece you were doing with the Morning Rumble. Friends of ours at The Rock, Bryce and Mel and Rog. Mel, they've done a lot of great work for mental health, and you're very close with the show, and you really opened up on their program. I'm tired of leaving my home on the weekend and having my wife crying because I'm not home. I'm tired of all these virtue signals on social media

telling me what I should be doing. I'm just tired. I can't do it. You sound like you're at the end of your tether. Yeah. It was at the end of a long two weeks of running around. You know, I'd been on the road. I'd been in four schools.

I went into those school visits in Hokitika, Greymouth and Whangarei, and I went in thinking, I can't keep doing this. I can't keep staying on the road and not giving my family any time. But then I'm talking to kids who were sexually abused when they're under 10 years old who are now 12, 13, 14, 15 and can't get any help, can't see a counsellor, just keep getting turned away because on the outside they look fine. And, you know, I held, one girl came up and handed

me a note saying, I've tried to walk this depression off. I keep slapping myself in the face, but it doesn't work. And I can't communicate. And she just stood in front of me. I held her for 20 minutes and she was just shaking, just crying, sobbing and shaking. And you go, you know, I can't leave that. And then you get home and, you know, and trying to explain to my wife that, you know, the dinner that I said that I was going to take you out to tonight,

I have to go to Oaxaca to do a fundraiser to try and get more money. And watching her. And so it all just came down on top of me. And, you know, the response was unbelievable. Well, it has gone viral and the message is getting out there. But it must be hard on you. It's so draining on you. And I didn't realise your number.

You know, you give your number out to so many people and kids will call you, you know. Well, it's not just the kids, you see. It's the parents. I mean, you're parents, right? Yeah. So, you know, if you're a parent and you can't fix your babies and you can't get them the help and your babies are being turned away

and saying, no, you're not severe enough, it's soul destroying. So people don't just need help. They need hope. And hope is someone answering the phone, someone who cares, someone who will respond. And, you know, people have been saying to me, you need to take a break. You need to take a break. And I'm like, are you going to step up?

Are you going to step up? And it's a 24-7 job. So I want to change the system. I want to change. New Zealand wants the system changed, but I want to change it into the system that I want to see. So in order to do that, my wife and I answer every text, every email, every social media message,

every phone call. And you can't just, oh, just look after yourself, we'll take over. No, you're saying that, but you're not actually doing anything. You do mention that you are one person, and if you step away, who's going to take over? What can people do? Donatings, obviously. Yeah, so money's important,

but there are lots of families out there, lots of people that can't. You can protest. You can say what is going on. You keep asking the question, where is the money going? Just ask innocent questions. Really simple.

You don't have to do anything. Just keep asking questions and tag in your local MP. Keep asking. That's all you have to do. And it's heartbreaking as, you know, like you say, we're parents. We all are. And, you know, they have their kids and they're going to be entering, you know, high school next year.

And to see the suicide rates, particularly in the young, it's taken in the developed world, you know. Here's the thing that your listeners know but are not saying anything. And this affects your listeners specifically there is a tsunami of mental health issues coming for your children, you listeners your children in particular

it's called eating disorders it is the fastest growing mental health disorder out there, it is the most deadly and it's an 18 month waiting list to see someone. Everyone who's listening on this radio station right now, you know someone. You know someone, or you are struggling, and none of you are saying anything because of the shame. There is no shame.

We need to talk about this for the sakes of our children, you know, for a $3 donation at Boots 469, text Boots for 469, that little bit of money will help a young person get to see a counsellor. And if you want to know how efficient our service is and you've got a child that's worried, and remember this, the smaller the problem, the younger the age, the better. Go to gumbootfriday.com and five pushes of a button, you will have a counsellor returning your call straight away

and you will be booked in and on average you will see a counsellor in under six days. So all of this nonsense that these governments are telling us about a shortage of counsellors is not true. We need $5 million for Gumboot Friday today, and this is to keep up with the demand for the counsellors. We are going to double again. So it will be at least half a million dollars a month by the time we get around.

So that will last 10 months. But it's a start. It's a start. So if you're driving to work now, if you're sitting in your office, you can text simple $3 donation. So just one donation will really help my account. And also notice on the website too you can volunteer for Gumboot Friday as well.

Yeah, we have volunteers. We have, you know, there is your ability to automatically donate once a week $2. It doesn't matter. Look, I have got, this is how cool our people are. I've got one man who just gives whatever he can every week. And sometimes it's 37 cents. Seriously, 37 cents. That's all I've got this week.

This man is a legend to me. I just, you know, every week his donation is there, just whatever he can afford. And here's a guy that's doing more than all the politicians and all the bureaucrats who are giving away millions of dollars every year. Why? Because he's there. He cares.

We can all make a difference. Yeah. Well, Mike King, nice to see you on Gumboot Friday. Thank you for sharing with us again. Thank you for everything you do, and I'm glad to hear that you're back because New Zealand needs you, so thank you. Love you guys. Thank you.

You too.