Te Ara Toiora

Background

In 2001 the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated Board visited all marae in Kahungunu to kōrero with whānau about the future aspirations of the iwi. Information was collated and became the foundation of the Ngāti Kahungunu 25 Year Vision. Over the following 5 years, the Iwi moved quickly into strategic mode and plans were developed to promote the aspirations of the Iwi and enable access to quality health services, quality housing opportunities, quality education, opportunities for employment and cultural development initiatives that would inspire and strengthen whānau wellbeing. In 2007 the Te Ara Toiora Wellbeing Strategy was developed to provide a framework to underpin the 25 year vision and connect the Kahungunu strategies.

Vision/Kaupapa

Strong, Vibrant, Healthy Whānau, Hapū & Iwi.

The aims of Te Ara Toiora o Ngāti Kahungunu

Whānau in Kahungunu will be healthy, vibrant and enjoy a high standard of living.
Whānau have access to high quality services.
Active Whānau are a quality resource for wellbeing.
Whānau have an increased knowledge (Mātauranga) and understanding of wellbeing.
Whānau utilise seamless services that contribute to whānau wellbeing.

Ngā Pou o Te Ara Toiora

Te Tumu Whakahaere o Te Wero
Whakamoe Patu - Violence Free
Tupeka Kore - Tobacco Free
Whakarauora Rongoā - Rongoā Revitalisation
Māori Health Strategies

- Hawkes Bay District Health Board ...'Mai'

Te Tumu Whakahaere o Te Wero

Te Tumu Whakahaere o Te Wero is a health and wellbeing advisory group - a collective made up of health and wellbeing providers from across Hawke’s Bay. The services provided by the collective play an important role including care providers, managing homes, health needs and youth support. *Te Kupenga Hauora Ahuriri, Roopu A Iwi Trust, Kahungunu Health, Innov8, Te Ikaroa Rangatahi Social Services and Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga Trust.

Paiheretia te Muka Tāngata – Uniting the Threads of Whānau

Paiheretia te Muka Tāngata - Uniting the Threads of Whānau, is a kaupapa that draws on the strengths of the Whānau Ora approach to support tāne Māori who are in the Corrections system.

Early 2021, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc entered into a commissioning relationship with Te Puni Kōkiri and Ara Poutama Aotearoa to pilot the Paiheretia Te Muka Tāngata approach in Te Wairoa, Ahuriri and Heretaunga.

As a result, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc has partnered with, and commissioned Te Tumu Whakahaere o Te Wero (Te Wero) to provide a specialist Kaiarataki navigator workforce to work directly with tāne Māori and their whānau in their journey through the system. Kaiarataki are assisting whānau to build and maintain strong and healthy relationships, plan toward goals, and access the services and support they need.

In the past year Te Wero Kaiarataki have worked with 240 individual whānau members to navigate challenges and work toward their goals. Alongside of Kaiarataki we have a team of Ministy of Social Development Integrated Services Case Managers providing quality timely advice and support to the kaupapa.

While navigating systems can present challenges, collectively we have identified 12 key recommendations to strengthen community supports and influence systems with a view to achieve transformational change. Our focus for the year ahead will be to continue building on the awesome work and successes achieved through Te Wero, Kaiarataki and the our whānau.

Te Kura - Empowering whānau to be safe from family harm and violence

Te Kura is a Ngāti Kahungunu approach to Whāngaia Ngā Pā Harakeke, which is a New Zealand Police initiative that encourages collaboration with iwi and other agencies to reduce family harm within Māori communities.

Te Kura whilst still in its infancy has made significant progress strengthening the partnership with Police, Government agencies and NGO services across the Hawke’s Bay region. The vision for year one has been to support the development of authentic two way partnerships working collectively to empower whānau to be safe from family harm and violence. Our goals and objectives include the following:

Kotahitanga - Strengthening the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi and New Zealand Police partnership model

Development of Te Kura branding including logo and business cards
Ongoing education and integration of Te Kura concepts and vision across Hawkes Bay Police
Co led workshop, Iwi and Police working collaboratively on process improvement
Promotion of Iwi Police partnership model opportunities in the community
Co-hosting of Police Commissioner Andrew Coster May 2022

Mahi Tahi – Lead process improvements collectively with NGO and Government Agency partners

Te Kura Iwi coordination of daily hui
Incorporation of an Iwi lens challenging for continuous improvement for whanau
Advocating a return to kanohi ki te kanohi hui
Te Kura led agency and services speed dating event June 2022
Introduction of karakia to daily hui to support the wellbeing and wairua of participants
Taking hui to our partners – pakihiwi ki te pakihiwi

Ora – Practices that reflect restoration and the aspirations of whānau

Holistic solutions focussed approach adopted to support whole whānau
Iwi led mahi to bring whānau voice to the forefront of all we do – whānau reference group
Training and development planning and delivery to adopt a whanau ora approach

Oranga Tamariki - Whānau in care

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi has a dedicated staff member who looks at addressing specific Oranga Tamariki inquiries. Several of these cases require weekly intervention which consists of high level monitoring and communication either at local, regional or national level. Communication with Oranga Tamariki sites often consists of connecting with case site managers, supervisors and social workers to ensure the whānau voice has been heard through hui. In some circumstances the communication is non existent and has broken down.

Whānau plans need to have adequate resourcing from Oranga Tamariki and service providers who work intensively with them towards achieving whānau aspirations, mana motuhake - the ability to determine their own path in life through self reliance. In most cases there are minimal services to whānau. Case Resolution covers Aotearoa, and these cases have been in the system for several years which makes the journey difficult for whānau to bring their tamariki home.

Family Court matters are costly for whānau and require experienced advocacy to assist them to navigate the Judiciary and Oranga Tamariki system. Ngāti Kahungunu SPA with Oranga Tamariki is actioned through all cases as a platform to negotiate & navigate assistance for our Kahungunu whānau and tamariki.

There have been some successes for whānau in this space, however, the aim is to move all Kahungunu tamariki out of care. A new design called Te Ara Mātua Looking forward the pilot between Oranga Tamariki and Ngāti Kahungunu will be the only strategy to address the inequities and inequalities that still exist for our people.

Te Ara Mātua

Te Ara Mātua is a new and improved way to support whānau through early intervention to limit whānau involvement with Oranga Tamariki. Te Ara Mātua is 1 of 9 prototypes that are being designed throughout the country. Te Ara Mātua responds to the findings of whānau outlined in the ‘Kōrero Mai Whānau Report’. In 2019, the ‘Kōrero Mai Whānau’ project took place at Waipatu Marae and provided a platform for whānau and hapū to share their experiences with maintaining their whānau and interactions with the state. The launch took place on Wednesday 26 April 2023 at Waipatu Marae. link here to view more information.

Click here to view more information about Te Ara Mātua

Working with the Department of Corrections and Justice System

Te Paerewa

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc signed a strategic partnership agreement with New Zealand Police in early May 2022. As a starting point our first programme of work will focus on preventing whānau from entering into the police system and if being in police care is unavoidable – what does care look and feel like. This mahi will be anchored on the voices of whānau and supported by the pukenga within Te Tumuwhakahaere o Te Wero.

Ara Poutama Aotearoa – Department of Corrections

The partnership between Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc and Ara Poutama is well established. With the support of pukenga across Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc we have developed approaches informed by the voices of whānau and anchored on Kahungunutanga.

Tēnei Au, Tēnei Au – tikanga, wānanga and ngakau ora (trauma informed care) approach to supporting tāne while in high security unit in Hawkes Bay Regional Prison. We move to explore what Tēnei Au, Tēnei Au approach may look like in the community. The integration of a bail support into the kaiarataki service and the beginnings to develop to a cultural framework that will support whānau.

Te Ao Marama

Te Ao Mārama Court is the opportunity to reimagine the delivery and structure of the District and Family court – to uphold the principles of whānau well-being to ensure the experience is inclusive of whānau decision-making, where the environment enables whānau to move from “Te Ao Tara Aitu – the world of calamity,” to a space of “Ki Te Ara Mātua – a pathway of clarity.”

The vision is to improve the experience for all people who participate in the court system, including victims and their whānau.

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated anchors all we do on the voices of whānau. We believe that whānau can help to provide solutions to support a space that will enable our vision for whānau to move from a state of calamity to a pathway of clarity.

Click here to view more information.

Housing

The Ngāti Kahungunu housing project is an initiative that aims to provide quality, affordable housing to members of the tribe. The project is being funded by the government's Māori Housing Network and will involve the construction of 110 new homes across the Hawke's Bay region.