Kahungunu Opens New Te Ara Mātua Hub To Support Tamariki.

Friday, 19 July 2024, 2:05 pm
Press Release: Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII) and its health and wellbeing advisory group Te Tumu Whakahaere o Te Wero (Te Wero), with support from Oranga Tamariki, are proud to announce the opening of a new Te Ara Mātua Hub in Heretaunga (Hastings). This Kahungunu-led initiative aims to offer integrated support through a collective approach to addressing the disproportionate number of tamariki Māori in state care in Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke’s Bay).

Improved access and local support

The hub which is based at Taikura House on the same floor as the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated office, will provide an independent space for whānau in Heretaunga to access support from Te Wero, including care, health, home, and youth support services. Whānau will also be offered training, development, and wānanga. By uniting community experts and stakeholders, the hub ensures early and effective responses to tamariki and whānau needs.

“From our engagement with whānau we learned that they need support that is accessible and relatable. They want support they can trust from someone who looks like them, sounds like them and is them. We have a similar hub planned for Ahuriri (Napier) to ensure all Kahungunu whānau have the support they need,” says Melissa White, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi, Director of Te Ara Mātua.

An integrated team, including a Pou Tāhuhu (Independent Coordinator from Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc.) and two Pou Tuarongo (Te Wero Report of Concern assessors) supported by Oranga Tamariki social workers, will manage, and assess community referrals using a collective decision-making process. The team will collaborate closely with Oranga Tamariki care and protection sites and regional offices in Heretaunga and Ahuriri, as well as the Hawke’s Bay Youth Justice team.

A significant milestone in our journey

Chrissie Hape, the Chief Executive of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc acknowledged the significance of the opening and the whānau who have shared their experiences as part of Kōrero Mai, which inspired and enabled the realisation of Te Ara Mātua. She also commended the tireless efforts of the kaimahi from the iwi organisation, Te Wero and Oranga Tamariki for reaching this point. Chrissie has been involved in this journey for a number of years and says this day is a huge step for whānau to walk with whānau who can support them to take control of their own destiny.

“Te Ara Mātua is a waharoa programme that allows us to take a level of ownership of the delivery of services that support our whānau, to provide a space that allows our whānau to be nurtured and grow, to enable them to take control of their own destiny. I’m so excited about today,” - Chrissie Hape.

“In 2019, former iwi chairman Kaumātua Ngahiwi Tomoana, declared that ‘Not one more child’ would be taken into the Oranga Tamariki system without our intervention. The opening of the hub today represents significant shift in our ability to lead the way for our whānau”.

The Te Ara Mātua Hub opening was attended by Ngāti Kahungunu whānau, their Te Ara Toiora champions, and Te Wero. Special guests included Minister for Children Hon Karen Chhour, Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive Chappie Te Kani, and the local community. Speeches were delivered by Chrissie Hape and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc. Board Chair Bayden Barber, Chappie Te Kani and Minister Chhour, each highlighting the significance of Te Ara Mātua and the journey to its realisation.

Te Ara Mātua

The hub is a whānau-centric space that forms part of the transformative Te Ara Mātua model, which prototypes a Ngāti Kahungunu-led approach to supporting and caring for whānau within their community. This prototype design, led by Kahungunu, responds to the findings outlined in the Kōrero Mai Whānau report. Based on a 2019 project, the report provided a platform for whānau and hapū to share their experiences with the state and discuss the preservation of their whānau. The primary aim of Te Ara Mātua is to keep whānau together and reunite those within the system with their whānau, hapū and iwi.

Strengthening partnership and enabling community-led solutions

The hub’s creation is a collaborative effort by Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc., Te Wero and Oranga Tamariki. It was born out of the Enabling Communities programme and a strategic partnership between Ngāti Kahungunu and Oranga Tamariki, established in 2021. This programme is the centre piece for the decentralising of Oranga Tamariki functions into the community.

“Te Ara Mātua is our iwi partnership with Oranga Tamariki, and this is a model that’s based on our tikanga, our reo, our whanaungatanga and our whakapapa with our people. We know how to manaaki, nurture and best care for our Tamariki” – Bayden Barber, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated Chairman.

“Our whānau are at the centre of Te Ara Mātua. The space we have opened today was inspired by Kahungunu whānau, is led by Kahungunu whānau and will be used for Kahungunu whānau,” – Chrissie Hape

Access Te Ara Mātua Support

Whānau and hapū are encouraged to learn more about the hub and access Te Ara Mātua services. For more information visit https://www.kahungunu.iwi.nz/tearamatua. Key details will be posted on our website and shared throughout our iwi communication channels in due course.

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