Petition of Rebecca Toms: Urgent expert care and subsidy assistance for young people with eating disorders

Eating disorder patient numbers have been rising steadily year after year. But the families say we lack the facilities, funding or expertise to deal with it.

Rebecca Toms is a Christchurch mother of a recovered eating disorder sufferer and earlier this morning presented a petition to Parliament calling for urgent expert care and subsidy assistance for young people with eating disorders.

Eating disorders are often misunderstood, yet they have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Here, Rebecca Papprill, the founder of WithLoveED – an NZ voluntary platform that is designed to support families impacted by eating disorders.

The government’s recent updates on its strategy to address eating disorders, as outlined in the Beehive article 'Refreshed Eating Disorder Strategy' announced during Awareness Week, have sparked a mixture of hope and frustration in me. While I acknowledge the efforts being made, I cannot help but reflect on how long families like mine have waited for real, meaningful change. Sixteen years, to be exact.