Some mountains are obvious. They rise in front of us – visible, defined, impossible to ignore.
But for many young people in Aotearoa, the most significant challenges are the ones we can’t see from the outside.
They are carried more quietly and shape how a young person experiences the world long before they become visible to others.
The pressure of not feeling like you belong, the uncertainty of what comes next, the complexity of what might be happening at home, the sense that you should be doing better but don’t yet have the tools to do so, and the reality of material hardship and constraint. These are the kinds of challenges that rarely present themselves clearly, yet influence everything for a young person.
Much of the national conversation about young people focuses, understandably, on what is going wrong. And there is no shortage of evidence pointing to increasing pressure. Recent insights highlight a concerning pattern: child poverty remains persistent, material hardship continues to affect a significant number of families, educational achievement is declining, and around one in four young people are experiencing high psychological distress. More broadly, key indicators for children and youth are either worsening or, at best, holding steady.
This is the visible part of the mountain, but it is only part of the story.
Alongside these pressures sits a more nuanced and, in many ways, more important insight.
Recent research from The Helen Clark Foundation shows that young New Zealanders are actually the most aspirational of any age group, yet they report the lowest lived experience of social cohesion. They are more hopeful about what their future could be, even while experiencing higher levels of isolation, lower perceptions of opportunity, and less connection to the systems around them.
Young people have not lost belief in what is possible – but they are less likely to experience the conditions that allow that potential to be realised.
The unseen mountains are often internal: resilience under pressure, anxiety, self-doubt, motivation, and confidence. There may be instability at home, food insecurity, material hardship, adult and family pressures too early, exposure to stress and violence, loneliness.
These issues are not always visible from the outside, but they are deeply felt in how young people navigate their lives – they create seemingly insurmountable obstacles for a young person. These unseen contributors can be interconnected, compounding and effects cumulative rather than immediate. Often invisible until they are well established.
Outcomes are shaped by the environments young people move through every day – their schools, their communities, their relationships, and the broader systems that influence opportunity and belonging. Disengagement from school, declining confidence, or poor mental health are often the result of conditions that have been building over time. By the point they become visible, they are far harder to shift. The long term impact is significant.
The Graeme Dingle Foundation offers a series of interconnected programmes with proven impact for young people at critical stages of their development. This impact of Graeme Dingle Foundation programmes is proven to be a return of $10.50 for every $1 invested. Donate today to support this work.
Because when young people build confidence early, when they are supported to develop resilience and a sense of direction, their trajectories change. They engage more deeply with education, navigate challenges more effectively, and are better equipped to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them. This is where the work of the Graeme Dingle Foundation is focused.
Not all mountains can be seen. But that does not make them any less real for the young people facing them. The challenge – and the opportunity – lies in recognising those unseen pressures early enough, and ensuring that young people are equipped with what they need to navigate them. That they have the opportunity to realise potential.
We can move mountains — with your help.
Donate now and support a young person to access life-changing programmes through the Graeme Dingle Foundation.