Lived experience drives passion

Meet Ann-Marie Higgins, our Quality Improvement Coordinator, Safety and Equity for Mental Health and Addiction Service.

“I have four adult children and four mokopuna so making the world better for them is part of it too.

“Suicide prevention is my main area of interest. I have a lot of lived experience being in support roles with almost all mental health and addiction scenarios, so I understand what a lot of whaanau are going through. This has driven my desire to help people and now I feel that I really am able to make more of a difference in this role.”

Ann-Marie has previously worked in a variety of roles including Carter Holt Harvey, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, and Auckland District Health Board, but says her dreams of coming back to mental health and addiction were realised when she started in her current role.