The mother of a Kiwi aid worker killed in Ukraine says she's still learning to live with the grief.
Andrew Bagshaw was killed in January when he and a colleague, Chris Parry, were attempting to rescue an elderly woman from Soledar - an area of intense military action - when the car he was in was hit by an artillery shell.
Bagshaw is one of three Kiwis who have been killed in Ukraine. Dominic Abelen was killed in August last year and Kane Te Tai in March.
Andrew's mother, Dame Sue Bagshaw told AM on Thursday she still struggles with the loss of her son.
"Grief is an experience we all have in one way or another and some days it goes okay and some days it doesn't. I think it's something you learn to live with," Dame Sue told AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green.
It comes as Dame Sue steps back from her role as a long-time advocate for young people's health in Canterbury.
Dame Sue started what has become Te Tai Youth, which offers free, accessible healthcare to troubled youth, in 1995. Te Tai Youth has also been known as 198 and 298 Youth Health Centre.
Dame Sue told AM it has been a "real privilege" to help so many people, but believes the needs of young people now are so much more complex.
"We still have to restrict our services because the funding is still inadequate. Having said that, what I found is that young people have much more complexities in their lives these days than they used to," she said.
"There is a lot more in terms of history of trauma in their lives, especially early on and it's intergenerational now. I'm seeing children of parents, who I saw back in back in the day, and it doesn't seem to change. It's a sad state of affairs."
She believes the biggest health challenge facing young Kiwis today is "mental ill health" including anxiety and depression, which Dame Sue believes has gotten worse since 1995.
"I think a lot of it is all sorts of abuse early in life and often, it's really hard for a parent who has grown up with abuse in their lives because what happens after abuse, especially early on, is you find it really hard to control your emotions," Dame Sue explains.
"When you grow up with a parent who is up and down in their mood all the time, no fault of their own, it's really hard for the child to learn safety and sustainability because their mood is changing with the time."
Watch the full interview with Dame Sue Bagshaw in the video above.
