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Transcript of Rise issue 28
“What is the most important thing in the world? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”
“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Mäku e kï atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”
Community Joining up for Kawerau kids – Social Sector Trials
Cyber marae – connecting young Māori
Shed Project – opening the community to disabled people
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTISSUE 28 – NOVEMBER 2014
ISSN 1178-4709 (Print)
ISSN 1178-4717 (Online)
Printed in New Zealand by Blue Star Print Group (NZ) Ltd using
FSC® mix paper from responsible resources, using mineral oil free,
soy-based vegetable inks.
The information provided in this Ministry of Social Development
publication is intended to profi le initiatives, research and opinions related
to the social sector, and all reasonable measures have been taken to
ensure that the information set out in this publication is accurate.
However, readers are advised that:
» The Ministry does not implicitly or impliedly endorse the views
presented in this publication unless otherwise stated.
» The information provided does not replace or alter the laws of
New Zealand or any other offi cial guidelines or requirements.
» The contents of this publication should not be construed as legal
advice. Before relying on any information in this publication,
users should independently verify its relevance for their purposes.
Welcome to the November 2014 issue of Rise.
Community is a powerful thing. It joins
people with common values and goals.
It is something shared, inclusive and open,
as opposed to private or restricted. It also
means kinship, identity, belonging and
co-operation. Community is the opposite of
isolation, and it is indispensable in a social
sector committed to making a real difference.
In this issue, we’ve collected stories from
dedicated and inspiring people, organisations
and communities working together for our
most vulnerable New Zealanders.
In our cover story, we meet some of
the determined people who are bringing
Kawerau together to change things for the
children and young people in one of our
poorest communities.
In rural Hawke’s Bay, an innovative
team in a tin shed have created a social
media community that is building a sense
of identity, pride and belonging among
young Mäori.
On the Kapiti Coast, the Shed Project is
helping disabled people gain purpose and
belonging in their community, and in doing
so it is opening up their world.
KickStart Breakfast is a wonderful
example of how much we can achieve
when government, private enterprise and
communities join together with a shared
goal. On a smaller, but no less significant
scale, Northland mum Letitia Noah tells
a powerful story of change with the united
support of two women who both backed her
to succeed.
I hope you enjoy our stories.
Ka kite anö.
Brendan Boyle
Chief Executive, Ministry of Social Development
Brendan BoyleChief Executive
This issue of Rise is about community
Southern
Canterbury
Nelson/ Marlborough/West Coast Wellington
East Coast
Northland
Auckland
Taranaki/King Country/Whanganui
Waikato
Bay of Plenty
Central
Welcome
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014ii
Contents
Cover storyJoining up for Kawerau kidsLeaders and organisations are joining forces for the babies, kids and young people of Kawerau – and rebuilding a community in the process.
Feature stories Technology, tikanga and a tin shedIn a shed in a paddock, a team with technology, talent and ideas is out to change things for young Mäori and whänau in rural Hawke’s Bay.
Kids and animals Canterbury SPCA is giving children in care a hands-on chance to care for animals.
KickStart A public-private-community partnership means more Kiwi kids are starting their school day on a full stomach.
Migrating to meaningful workThe Job Mentoring Service in Wellington helps skilled migrants and refugees bring their talents to the New Zealand workforce.
Changing the world, one shed at a time The Kapiti Shed Project is opening up the world for disabled people on the Kapiti Coast.
ArtsLab What do you get when you combine two talented jobseekers, a great idea and a lab that fosters young creatives into work?
Sanctuaries and safe havens In Hastings, diverse church and community leaders are learning to lead a united stand against family violence.
Spotlight on NorthlandA storm taskforce of jobseekers cleans up for farmers and growers, and a determined mum turns her life around, helped by a resolute work broker and a committed employer.
Spotlight on WaikatoA 17-year-old turns away from crime and drugs, an employer fi nds the right young guy for the job, and a new world in work opens up for 50-something Susan Mahara.
Regular columnsRegional round-up
Tips, links and news – ACCAN 2015, and Rise contacts
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Find it on the Apple iTunes App store by searching for Rise magazine.
Read Riseon your iPad
Rise onlinewww.msd.govt.nz/rise
Contact Rise Drop us a line at [email protected]
Rise on TwitterFor up to the minute information about all the work of the Ministry of Social Development follow us on Twitter @msdgovtnz
Subscribe to Rise Subscribe to the printed magazine or Rise online via www.msd.govt.nz/subscriptions There is no charge to subscribe.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 1
Technology, tikanga and a tin shed
RISE: Issue 28 – November 20142
In real life, AWA Transmedia Studio is a shed in a paddock. The last thing you expect, as you open the door, is to step into a sort of cyber marae. Here, surrounded by their own art and sculpture, a team of creative, tech-savvy and community-minded rangatahi are creating a virtual community for local young people.
AWA stands for aroha, whänau and
awhinatanga – love, family and community
support.
In virtual life, AWA is a social media hub
connecting young people with the good
stuff in their community and culture.
With a website and an app for their
smartphones, it shares projects, music,
videos, art and events with a wide community
of young people.
From a home-grown doco-series to
rap music and anti-bullying campaigns,
AWA is building the community based on
the kaupapa of tikanga Mäori, but serving
it up with the technology and credibility to
reach young people.
Reaching young MāoriTareha O’Reilly is the man behind the idea,
a community youth worker who became
increasingly concerned about the difficulty
connecting with young Mäori most in need.
“The penny dropped when I saw how
these kids used their smartphones and
digital technology for everything. I started
asking them questions and came to see that
if you want to even begin to reach them,
technology is where you have to start.”
Tareha got in touch with the Ideas School
at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT).
He brainstormed with Johnathan Rodgers,
a set designer and lecturer in screen
production, and EIT students helped to
sharpen the ideas.
The big step forward came when Tareha
saw an empty shed that belonged to local
families. All it took was one phone call and
the owners gave permission for him to fix it
up and use it.
But in order to reach and connect with
young people, Tareha knew AWA needed
to prove its credibility. Tipene Harmer was
his answer.
In a shed in a paddock near Waiohiki, a team with technology, talent and ideas is out to change things for young Māori and whānau in Hawke’s Bay.
Cyber marae: Rap artist Tipene Harmer in front of a painting by local artist DLT at the AWA Transmedia Studio. Both are committed to creating a tikanga-based virtual community to connect with Mäori youth.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 3
Positive star qualityTipene is an established rap artist, signed
to Warner Music, with a big following,
especially in Hawke’s Bay.
His music is grounded in local stories and
reality, the messages in his lyrics are positive,
he’s acutely aware of the influence he has
and he takes the responsibility very seriously.
“You can be a cool rapper, but you
influence a large group of people, young
people especially, so the messages have to
be good ones. When I found that the tikanga
and messages in my music resonated…
it just made me want to be better.”
Tipene grew up in Flaxmere and his own
childhood was tough at times.
Like many locals, he ended up working at
the freezing works for a long time, all the
while working on his music.
“On that robot schedule there was almost
no room for anything creative, but I was
always doing stuff, cutting shapes out of the
meat or writing songs on the fly.”
Tipene’s arrival has lifted AWA to a whole
new level of credibility.
“He has brought a whole lot of other
talent with him. Some of the best now want
to come to this space,” says Tareha.
The main room in the studio is testament
to this – the ceiling is beautifully carved
in polystyrene by George Nuku, an
internationally acclaimed local artist who has
exhibited in Paris and London. This carving
is symbolic – it represents an underpinning
philosophy that threads through all of
the work that AWA does which is about
presenting the beauty, wisdom and strength
of Mäori traditions in a contemporary manner.
“We wanted it as sort of a cyber marae,
where there are certain principles and ways
of doing things.”
Ideas, projects and partners
AWA is a natural fit with E Tu Whänau,
a Mäori-driven initiative backed by the
Ministry of Social Development.
E Tu Whänau creates positive community
change based on values of aroha, tikanga,
whakapapa, whänaungatanga, mana
manaaki and körero awhi (that is, love,
knowing who you are, connection to
whänau, giving, open communication and
doing the right thing).
E Tu Whänau has since partnered with
AWA on key projects for change, including
positive messages that work for whänau.
“This is all about families and their
behaviours and that’s why I love the E Tu
Whänau values,” says Tareha. “We’re helping
to create safe communities by showing these
basic things that we’ve forgotten about
– breaking down the barriers and challenging
normalised behaviours.”
Ideas and projects are constantly bubbling
away, including an anti-bullying campaign at
local schools.
“The cool thing is we’re like the tuakana
[elder brothers], showing them behaviour
that they rarely see because they might come
from gang backgrounds or maybe mum’s
struggling on her own. So we’re like the
big brothers to thousands of little kids out
there,” says Tareha.
Another project, ‘Picnic at the Pou’, saw
school kids visiting carved figures (pou)
representing ancestors from marae across
Hawke’s Bay.
“We wanted the kids to have some
cultural connection with the area, to become
kaitiaki to the pou in the area.
“Then we hope they’ll go back and teach
their whänau about that awesome history –
it’s about sharing our culture with all of our
community and making our kids feel good
about their place in that history,” says Tareha.
At Taradale Primary School, AWA has
helped the kids to focus on the environment to
restore the mauri (vitality) to their local streams.
The REAL NZ‘The REAL NZ’ is the current big project
on the go, a 10-episode bilingual web series
of music, comedy and interviews with sports
stars, artists and leaders who role model the
AWA tikanga.
The show will be available on all social
media platforms and on AWA’s app.
“We will show the best, the worst, the
funniest and all things Mäori in Hawke’s
Bay,” says Tipene. “A lot of what kids watch
now is American and the values are not ours.
We want to offer something else, flood them
with something better, fill them up with all
the great stuff – tikanga and goodness.”
Cyber tikangaCyber safety is the focus of another
project – the team is developing a cyber
tikanga based on E Tu Whänau values to
keep whänau safe and culture intact during
online interactions.
“We believe this is ground-breaking stuff,”
says Tareha. “We’re using an indigenous
strengths-based model to deal with a very
current issue for our young people.”
From Waiohiki to the world“The ideas here are just banging out.
We are always looking for new ways to
express that our people are talented and have
potential… to be great, great creators whether
it’s in sports or music, or carving or street art.
“We’re taking these cultural gifts and
we’re using them in a new way – because you
can’t forget about innovation and technology
or you’ll lose the pulse of the kids.”
WEB LINKS
Check out AWA’s videos, music and background at:http://awatransmediastudio.comwww.facebook.com/AWATransmediaStudio
Download the free AWA app for iPhone and Android at:www.reverbnation.com/awatransmediastudio
Tareha O’Reilly, founder of AWA Transmedia Studio.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 20144
Joining up for Kawerau kids
Leaders and organisations are joiningforces for the babies, kids and young people of Kawerau – and rebuilding a community in the process.
5RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014
For early childhood teacher Mihiata O’Brien it was time to speak up.
She was seeing some good changes in her
small Bay of Plenty town, with a new Social
Sector Trial supporting Kawerau’s teenagers
and school children since 2011.
Fewer kids were hanging around town
during school hours; there was less vandalism
and bullying. More kids were hanging out
at the newly-upgraded youth centres, the
boxing club, holiday programmes, and at
church activities in the evenings.
New satellite polytech courses were
being run locally for school leavers, and an
alternative education programme was up
and running.
But nothing was changing for the
youngest, most vulnerable kids of all.
So, earlier this year, Mihiata spoke up
on behalf of her colleagues and peers for
Kawerau’s babies and preschoolers.
She told the community leaders of
Kawerau’s Social Sector Trial that by the
time those babies and toddlers were six, and
within the Trial’s target age range, it may be
too late for some of them.
She shared stories about babies attending
preschool dirty or unfed, still wearing last
night’s nappy, not having enough kai each
day, and unseen by health or social services.
ECE teachers were going above and beyond
to support families with their needs.
They felt the responsibility falling heavily
on their shoulders, with little co-ordinated
early childhood support for families.
It was a clear call to action for K-Oper-8,
the group at the helm of the Social Sector
Trial – iwi and social service leaders, police,
the Mayor, school principals, Grey Power,
Work and Income leaders – and for Trial
manager Kevan McConnell.
KevanSince 2011, the Kawerau community
has taken control of youth-focused funding
from the Ministries of Social Development,
Education, Health, Justice and the
New Zealand Police.
Overseen by Kevan and a local advisory
group led by Mayor Malcolm Campbell,
the community can reshuffle the funding
as it sees fit to achieve four goals:
getting more young people engaged with
education, training or work; reducing
truancy; reducing youth crime and
reducing drug and alcohol issues.
As Trial manager, Kevan has a direct line
to Government ministers and senior officials,
and the mandate to engage community and
government agencies at a local and national
level. With a professional background
in social services, and as a former gang
member, he also has the connections to
open doors that others can’t.
Kevan’s first moves were to get
community leaders, social service providers
and agencies around one table, and then
to ask the community itself about its hopes
and challenges.
It was a tough time to begin a Social Sector
Trial. In 2011 Kawerau was devastated by
“It’s not easy. We’re dealing with multiple problems that require multiple responses.”
Mihiata O’Brien
Kevan McConnell
RISE: Issue 28 – November 20146
the suicides of 13 young people, and divided
by the decision to close two of the town’s
six schools.
“We had 500 people at a community
meeting and it was pitchforks and torches
stuff,” says Matai Bennett, of Kawerau’s
Manna Support Services.
People had plenty to say about what they
needed and what social services weren’t
achieving. They wanted:
• local youth services that deliver what
local young people need
• opportunities for young people to grow
skills, confidence and knowledge for work
• a positive youth culture, with young
people engaged with each other,
the community and the larger world
• positive role models and mentors for
young people.
But the challenges were huge.
WarwickWarwick Godfrey is a sports tutor, boxing
coach, town councillor and community
representative for the Social Sector Trial.
He is also one of several people who have
put their hands up to mentor young people
as they make the step from school to work.
He says decades of high unemployment
have fed a strong inter-generational gang
culture, characterised by drug and alcohol
use, crime, and family violence.
Low self-belief, a narrow view of their
options, and high alcohol and drug use was
the norm among young people. They faced
limited work opportunities – a quarter of
the town’s workforce was unemployed on
census day, the highest rate in the country.
Isolated efforts by a whole range of
social service agencies over many years
had failed to make any lasting impact.
Services were duplicated and disconnected,
operating in isolation and competing for
funding. Regional providers lacked local
knowledge, and there was little useful
communication between social services
providers and schools.
“In 20 years, I’ve seen more pilots here
than Auckland airport, and I thought
the Social Sector Trial would be exactly
the same. But it’s not. This one has teeth,”
says Warwick.
One tableSo how do you support a boy who uses
alcohol and drugs every day, and doesn’t go
to school? How do you connect with him
and work with his family, where no-one is
in paid employment and drugs are a source
of income?
Sitting around a table on a Thursday
morning are 15 people from a range of
social service and community organisations,
including school principals, iwi and
community social services, a Child, Youth
and Family social worker, the truancy
officer, school social workers, the police
youth aid officer, a Ministry of Education
official and three members of the Social
Sector Trial team.
It’s the weekly meeting of the Kawerau
Engaging Youth Forum (KEY) to collectively
case manage Kawerau’s most at-risk kids.
The conversation is frank and challenging
as people debate the best options and next
steps, and assign roles and accountability.
Co-chairing the meeting, Kevan waits for
people to work things out, stepping in only
to keep action and accountability on track.
“It’s not easy. We’re dealing with multiple
problems that require multiple responses.
Even getting my four boys to agree around
the table at home is hard enough, let alone
four large Ministries and independent local
providers,” says Kevan.
“But in the end, they have to work it out.
You can’t just say ‘oh, our workloads are too
heavy right now’, because there are kids who
need help right now, right here. The Social
Sector Trial has made everyone accountable
for getting the results Kawerau needs.”
Tarawera High School principal Helen
Tuhoro says instead of working in silos, with
education having nothing to do with the
council nor social services, the Social Sector
Trial has worked like glue.
“It brings us around the same table,
focusing on the families we do all our
mahi around.”
Child, Youth and Family has set up
an office in Kawerau to be closer to the
community and partner agencies. It now
sits in the same building as the Social Sector
Trial team, along with a host of other
community services.
The results speak for themselves –
a 33 percent increase in school attendance
and a 25 percent drop in Youth
Court appearances.
In the first two years of the Trial alone,
the KEY Forum worked with 75 young
people to help them back into education.
Warwick Godfrey
Helen Tuhoro
Tahu Nehua
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RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 7
And in May 2012, the number of
disengaged young people hit zero “for the
first time in living memory,” according to
Mayor Malcolm Campbell.
Nanny DollsMeet Mereana ‘Dolls’ Rua, 61, a life-long
resident and ‘Nan’ or ‘Nanny Dolls’ to almost
everyone in Kawerau, from kids to kaumatua
to gang families.
Dolls has become Kawerau’s first local and
fulltime truancy officer, replacing a regional
role based in Whakatane that was having
little impact on Kawerau’s truant kids.
Putting Dolls in charge of school
attendance was one of the first moves of the
Social Sector Trial.
“We moved funding around to make
that happen,” says Kevan. “We needed a
community leader in that role, trusted and
respected, to get through the door into
people’s homes.”
Dolls knows the whänau of all the
youngsters she deals with, and will knock
on any door to bundle them off to school
in her car. She’ll connect with their families
as well and she’s quick to spot where more
help is needed.
FayleneKawerau-born and bred Faylene Tunui
was recruited as co-ordinator for the Social
Sector Trial team at the end of the Trial’s
first year. Educated and strongly connected
to the community, Faylene has also become
the youngest member of the district council.
“I was raised in Te Ao Mäori. As a kid,
I went from marae to marae to tautoko
everyone. Everyone is whänau.”
As Social Sector Trial co-ordinator,
Faylene’s job has no easy definition – from
cross-agency facilitator to big sister and
aunty. She’s just returned from a meeting
with visiting Government Minister Anne
Tolley when the phone rings.
“Hey Aunty,” says a worried young male
voice on the other end. A senior student
has a work experience programme with a
local employer, but the boy’s Nan hasn’t
made it back from her doctor’s visit to drive
him there.
Faylene, who co-ordinated the
programme, grabs her keys, prints an extra
copy of his work placement forms just in
case, and heads out the door.
Recently, she’s been working with Work
and Income to link local employers with
training providers, offering much-needed
work training and experience in industries
where local jobs are.
JoelAcross the road from the skate park,
a youth centre is an after school hangout
for up to 60 kids of all ages each day, and
an alternative education programme during
school hours.
Youth centre worker Joel King-Hazel,
19, is chairman of Kawerau’s youth council,
a Youth Services mentor, and passionate
about making a difference. He says there’s
a sea-change going on for many young
people in Kawerau.
“Kids who have been coming to this
centre for months are not coming in drunk
or stoned anymore. And I’m not just ‘hey
you’, anymore. I’m Matua Joel.”
Also, he says local churches are starting
to see up to 200 young people at evening
services from Wednesday to Sunday.
Kevan says that historically different parts
of the community – churches, iwi, school,
businesses and agencies – didn’t relate
much. “But the Social Sector Trial supports
what we all do as a community.”
Doing what is neededThe decision to close two of the town’s
six schools was tough for Kawerau. The
teachers were made redundant and only
three were re-hired. The 40 new teachers
did not know the students. Parents of
intermediate-aged kids were worried about
possible bullying by seniors.
Key community social service agencies
Manna Support Services and Tuwharetoa
ki Kawerau Hauora committed to working
openly together alongside schools.
For a year volunteers from across the
community, from parents to police officer
to the Mayor, took turns to spend time with
students during lunchtime and school breaks.
“We wanted to help the kids and teachers
settle in, and to let them know that the
whole community was behind them.”
Nanny Dolls
Faylene Tunui
Mayor Malcolm Campbell
RISE: Issue 28 – November 20148
Matai Bennett and Chris Majoribanks are
the respective leaders of Manna Support and
Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau Hauora, and they
acknowledge change for the community will
be a long game.
“But at least we’re focused on how
to put things together, rather than how
dysfunctional everything was,” says Chris.
“We’re no longer looking across the
landscape and seeing gaps that we can’t
plug, because we can’t work together.
Now we can change services to meet real
community needs.”
Seeing a need to support young women
involved with gangs, they went out and
asked them what sort of training would
interest them if it were run locally.
Then they successfully challenged the
regional polytechs to offer beauty, fashion
and health training, based in Kawerau.
“We asked why the polytechs couldn’t
consider building our young people’s
confidence to the point where they can
take the step outside this community and
carry on learning.
“For some of those young women this
was their first ever success, the first thing
they felt proud of. And the transformation,
as a result, was amazing.”
MihiataMihiata, the early childhood teacher
who challenged the Social Sector Trial to
look after the 0 to 5-year-olds, is now part
of the team as the ECE Participation Project
Co-ordinator, with backing from the Ministry
of Education.
Ten years as an early childhood educator
in Kawerau and a lifetime growing up and
raising her own kids in Kawerau means she
is firmly part of the community.
In a short time she’s connected several
families with early childhood services,
and other support services to help their kids
stay safe and healthy, and engaged in early
learning education.
“It’s about helping families, using all the
agencies and skills we’ve got here. And it’s
about forgetting to protect our own patch,
and working together.”
Community leadersKevan is widely acknowledged in
Kawerau for his commitment and success
in uniting the community and providers and
taking the new approach forward.
Kevan says getting people like Faylene,
Mihiata, Dolls and Warwick on board has
been about “developing the right people,
people who weren’t on the radar of
conventional authority, but who are the right
people to lead.
“This community is staunch about who
they’ll listen to – if you’re not from here,
you’re not from here. There are good people
in this community. And I’ve gone out looking
for them.
“It’s about developing the next
generation to take this into the future.”
WEB LINKS
Learn more about Social Sector Trials in Kawerau and other New Zealand communities:http://www.msd.govt.nz/kawerau-sst-action-planhttp://www.msd.govt.nz/social-sector-trials
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RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 9
Caring for a pet can teach us a lot about good relationships with animals and people. That’s why the Canterbury SPCA is giving children in care a hands-on chance to care for animals – helped by Myrtle the dog, and Vinnie the guinea pig.
“We know how vital it is for children who
may have witnessed cruelty and negative
role modelling to have opportunities to
develop respectful, nurturing and positive
relationships with animals,” says Rachel
Norris, who is Child, Youth and Family’s
Rangiora site manager.
She says the partnership with the SPCA
came from a recent forum where children
in care were asked about the things that
mattered to them.
“The children told us that their pets and
other animals were really important.”
The SPCA was a perfect fit because its
education programme taught children about
compassion and empathy for their furry,
feathered and finned friends.
Richard, the SPCA Canterbury’s Education
Manager, is passionate about educating
children, particularly those who may be
at risk of developing negative behaviours
towards animals. He was very keen to work
with Rangiora’s children in care.
“If we can teach young people to be
empathetic towards animals, there is less
risk of cruelty later on – not just to animals,
but to people.
“Our core message is based on the Five
Freedoms of Animal Welfare. To a young
audience this means making sure that pets
have food and water, love and understanding,
shelter, exercise and vet care.”
Rachel and her team are very keen to
continue working with the SPCA.
“We have a great opportunity to support
children in care to develop a really good
understanding of what animals need, and
encourage them to become advocates for
animal welfare,” says Rachel.
The children enjoyed the session and
loved the hands-on time with the animals.
One young person said, “Having this
experience has inspired me even more to
work with animals.”
Another said, “Animal abuse is cruel and
it needs to be stopped. If a person can’t look
after animals properly then they shouldn’t
have pets.”
On their next visit, the children will get
the chance to have a look around the animal
centre, meet the animals up for adoption and
get hands-on with more animals, including
Bertie the cow and Doris the pig.
Kids and animals
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201410
KickStart
A public-private-community partnership means more Kiwi kids are starting their school day on a full stomach.
Ten-year-old Logan arrives early at school
every day, but it’s not to play with his mates
in the playground.
Instead, he looks forward to catching
up with them over a Weet-Bix and milk in
Wainuiomata Primary School’s hall.
He’s one of about 40 Wainuiomata
children who enjoy a daily fix of Weet-Bix
and Anchor milk as part of the KickStart
Breakfast programme, which serves more
than 95,000 breakfasts in more than 760
schools nationwide.
With support from the Government to
the tune of $1.9 million a year, Sanitarium
provides the Weet-Bix and Fonterra provides
the milk. Schools and their communities
provide the bowls and spoons and of
course the places and the people to run the
breakfast clubs.
Hungry“Children were coming to school hungry
and we were feeding them out of our school
finances, but the need was getting greater,”
says Deputy Principal Allison Burdon.
The increasing number of hungry children
prompted the school to sign up to KickStart
Breakfast. In just a few months, the teachers,
parents and community alike have embraced
the programme. With a pool of 20-or-so
parent and staff helpers, the breakfast club
goes through about 40 litres of milk and 660
Weet-Bix each week, ensuring that children
like Logan start their day in a good way.
It has made a huge difference,
says Allison.
“We had a lot of angry outbursts,
and when you asked the kids what they
had for breakfast they’d say, ‘nothing’.
We’ve identified those children and got them
to our breakfast club, and those outbursts
have subsided now.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 11
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201412
“Our teachers are really noticing that the
children seem more settled in class and they
settle into work more.
“It’s also been good for other children
who probably don’t need breakfast, in that
it is building a culture within our school.
The breakfast table has a really nice feel
about it, and it’s good for them socially too.”
Bright brains and full tummies
Logan’s lot usually comprises two
Weet-Bix, sometimes more depending on
dinner the night before.
“Having breakfast makes my brain think
better. When I get milk in my head, when
I go to class I can think,” he says.
His school mates agree, with seven-year-old
Fanua saying that breakfast makes it easier
to do schoolwork.
Her friend Anatea says she’d always
arrive late for school and without much for
breakfast, but not any more.
“Now I come early and eat here. I like
it because I get to see my friends and my
tummy gets full.”
Teacher Deb Neho is one of a number of
staff who swing by the school hall to mingle
with students like Anatea over breakfast.
“It’s a great culture. It’s a great way to
start the day, for the kids and for me. I teach
years 4 to 6, and a full tummy really does
make a great day for learning.
“Then you get out into the playground
and kids are running to give you a hug
because you’ve just had breakfast with
them. It builds the bonds.
“They look at you as being normal, as in,
‘She eats and drinks with us, so she cares
about us out of the classroom as well’.
So the kids believe in you and then they
believe in themselves.”
Volunteer co-ordinator and school
administrator Marlene Bell says KickStart
Breakfast has had plenty of backing from
parents and the community.
“We have an amazing bunch of parents
who help out, like Tania, who comes in twice
a week with her three kids, of whom one
isn’t even at school yet, but she helps to
serve breakfast too.”
Strong partners – community, business and government
KickStart Breakfast was launched by
Fonterra and Sanitarium in 2009, serving
breakfast twice a week to children in
low-decile schools.
Since the Ministry of Social Development
came on board in May 2013, the programme
has expanded to five days a week and
opened up for all schools that want it.
That financial backing has prompted a
33 percent increase in schools involved.
As of term three this year, 761 schools were
enrolled in the programme. More than
half are now offering breakfast five days
a week.
“This is a genuine partnership between
the Government, the community and
New Zealand business,” says Ruth Palmer,
the Ministry of Social Development’s Family
and Community Services General Manager.
“It’s a great, practical way to make a real
difference in children’s lives by providing
them with nutritious food that sets them up
for the day.”
Fonterra too is “immensely pleased, and
very, very proud” of what it has done so far.
“The fact is, we are very good at making
nutritious products, as is Sanitarium, so it’s
really great that our businesses can help to
solve, in a small way, a big problem that
exists within New Zealand,” says Fonterra’s
Louise Aitken.
And there’s been plenty of positive
feedback, says Louise, along with some
touching experiences of her own.
“I’ve personally had an experience with
a 15-year-old who received his schedule for
his NCEA Level 1 exams. His school serves
breakfast three days a week, and he said to
me that he knew he’d pass his science exam
because it had fallen on a day when the
school had breakfast.”
Sanitarium also receives plenty of positive
feedback from students and schools.
“Through KickStart Breakfast, we’re
able to make a real and lasting difference
in our communities,” says Sanitarium’s
Hayley Scott.
KickStartacknowledgedThe Sustainable Business Council has highlighted the KickStart Breakfast programme as a successful example of how businesses can work with partners, in its Practical Guide to Effective Partnerships. The Guide provides practical guidance to businesses wanting to develop or enhance partnerships to deliver social and environmental change. A copy of the Guide is available on the Sustainable Business Council’s website at www.sbc.org.nz/resources-and-tools/guides/partnerships
WEB LINK
Learn more about KickStart Breakfasthttps://kickstartbreakfast.co.nz
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 13
Migrating to meaningful workHaiou Wang is excited. She’s nervous too, but mostly excited. The Chinese native is about to start her fi rst job in her adopted New Zealand.
kia orakia ora
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201414
Haiou Wang chats to her job mentor Liz Chin, gleaning some last advice before Liz officially transforms from mentor to mate.
This time, rather than asking about how
to get a job, she’s asking what to wear on
the job, which calls for business-casual wear.
“Maybe for the first week or so wear
something a bit more dressed up,” advises
Liz. “The first impression always stays, and
you never know when you’ll be called to an
important meeting.”
Haiou’s new role is as Senior Planner
in Inland Revenue’s performance and
finance team.
Her experience in corporate finance at
KPMG in China, and her excellent English,
secured her the job, but she says she couldn’t
have done it without Liz’s guidance.
“Liz helped me to make sure it was
all done in the Kiwi way. She taught me
what the local job market was looking for.
She built up my confidence and helped me
to believe in myself. She took time in her
weekends. She’s my hero.”
The Job Mentoring Service
Haiou and Liz are a success story from
the Job Mentoring Service, run by English
Language Partners in Wellington.
“Our core business is developing English
language skills and social support and
helping migrants and refugees to settle,”
says English Language Partners’ manager
Zlata Sosa.
“But about 12 years ago we noticed
high levels of unemployment among skilled
migrants from non-English-speaking countries.
“Finding a job can be a prolonged process
for anyone, but especially for people who
don’t have networks and don’t know the
Kiwi way.
“So we set up the Job Mentoring Service
to help skilled migrants and refugees to find
meaningful work.”
The programme matches a trained
volunteer job mentor with a skilled migrant or
refugee from a non-English-speaking country.
They work one-on-one to help the
newcomer get a foot in the door of their
profession.
“We don’t find them the work, but
our volunteers help jobseekers to prepare
themselves for work in the New Zealand job
market and apply for jobs.
“It’s about teaching them what local
employers are looking for, and building up
their networks and confidence so they don’t
just take whatever work they can get.”
Zlata, an immigrant from Bosnia-
Herzegovina, knows the difference that a
meaningful job can make in a new country.
“They feel valued and useful.
They’re part of something, and all of their
family benefits.”
As per its funding agreement with Work
and Income, each year the Job Mentoring
Service must help at least 35 migrants to
gain meaningful employment.
In the past 12 years the organisation has
helped more than 350 migrants to find jobs.
The right matchMatching the right mentors and jobseekers
is the key to success. That task falls to
co-ordinator Olga Smith, who came to
New Zealand from the Czech Republic
and has a background in psychology and
social work.
“The three main things we look at are
personality, need and similarity of industry.
It’s a professional relationship, but they have
to be able to work together.”
The amount of work involved depends
largely on the jobseeker.
“We ask our volunteers to give each
jobseeker at least six months, usually
meeting weekly or fortnightly for an hour or
so,” says Olga.
“As the jobseeker grows in confidence
they can do more on their own. Sometimes
it’s more about the mentor being there for
questions, to run through interview scenarios,
or to cast their eye over a cover letter.”
Liz says she doesn’t think about the time
she gives.
“It’s not a chore, especially if you’re
matched with the right person.
“Haiou wanted a public sector job and,
since I work in the public sector, it was more
about sharing my knowledge of how that
job market worked, the processes and what
jobs were coming up.”
A job mentor also keeps people
motivated, says Olga. “It’s no fun sitting at
home on your own looking for a job, but if
you’ve got a mentor you’re meeting every
week, you keep going.”
Jobseekers are invited to attend Network
Nights too, to meet others and increase
their chances of finding meaningful work.
And mentors encourage them to take
up voluntary work for experience,
connections and – crucially – local employers
to act as referees.
“We recently had a woman who had
worked in human resources in Indonesia,
but was working in a supermarket here,”
says Zlata.
“Her mentor helped her to find volunteer
administration work at the hospital, which
led to a full-time paid job in medical records.
“Working at the hospital voluntarily
meant she heard about the job, had some
local experience, and had someone to vouch
for her.”
The service has no trouble retaining
its mentors. In fact, most take on new
jobseekers once their current one (or two)
gets a job.
Liz has now helped six people; another
dedicated volunteer mentor has helped 14.
Alice Hodder, who co-ordinated the
programme for three years until July 2014,
says the trend she most appreciated was
migrants helping migrants.
“About half of our mentors are former
migrants themselves – some have used this
service. They know how hard it can be to
find a good job here and how vital it is to
get some help.
“That’s a strong indicator of the success
of the programme and the great support it
offers coming back full circle.”
WEB LINK
The Job Mentoring Service helps skilled migrant and refugee jobseekers looking for meaningful work in Wellington. It trains and recruits volunteer mentors to support jobseekers and share their experience of finding work.http://jobmentor.org.nz
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 15
Changing the world, one shed at a time
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201416
Step inside the Kapiti Shed Project and the conifer scent of macrocarpa is the fi rst thing you notice.
One man smooths the rough edges of
macrocarpa blocks with a sanding machine.
Another uses sandpaper to fi nish the job.
Four other men carefully brush the blocks
with olive oil, giving them a rich, deep colour.
The shaped blocks are destined to become
children’s building toys.
It’s a scene that could be played out in any
shed around the country – men, tools, wood.
At lunchtime there’s a hot sausage in
a slice of bread; when they down tools,
a pint. On the weekends it’s a camping trip
or movie evening with fi sh and chips.
It all sounds ordinary enough, but to Denis
Wood, the Kapiti Shed Project’s founder and
dogsbody, it’s magic.
“It’s blokes and sheds. You don’t have to
do anything in the Shed. Just be in the Shed.
Hang out in the Shed. Just turn up.”
The Kapiti Shed Project came about after
Denis, who works in property maintenance,
noticed that activities on offer to men with
disabilities were very limited.
“These guys are like you and me. During
the day we’re not going swimming or
10-pin bowling. We do that on the weekend.
I can’t see why disabled people should
be any different. These guys are better
than this.”
At the time, Denis was tutoring young
unemployed men in building skills. Many
of them had learning disabilities, “and it
wasn’t long before they started to appear
on the weekends. Some came to help in the
workshop, others needed help, and some
just came to hang out and drink coffee.”
The Ministry of Social Development’s
Think Differently fund, along with help
from the Aotea Community Trust, Capital
Training and local businesses, allowed the
Shed to expand. It employed four people
and was able to offer bloke-ish learning to
many more.
“When the guys come to the Shed,
they fi nd out what they can do and we
give them the means to do it. When they
become employed, pay tax, get holiday pay,
contribute to KiwiSaver, then people realise
how much they’re really capable of.”
Many disabled people lead lives kept
artifi cially narrow by the fears of well-meaning
families and caregivers, Denis says.
“Caregivers can be our biggest obstacles
sometimes,” says Denis. “They don’t believe
at fi rst that these guys can do it; they think
they’re not up to it.
“But give them an opportunity to be
part of the workforce, and they’re away.
For some of these guys it’s only now that
people are starting to see them as adults.”
One of the Shed’s success stories is David
Ledingham, who is paid to wield a sander,
sew up kindling bags to sell, cook lunch
for the blokes and clean the workshop.
A man of few words, he says his favourite
job is sewing.
Denis says the Shed is helping to change
mainstream attitudes to disabled people,
just by being part of the Kapiti Coast
community. They initially encountered brief
discrimination, such as a pub that didn’t
want to serve them and a venue manager
worried about letting them hire his hall.
“But with a bit of understanding people
have really stepped up.”
Changing the world, one shed at a time
Photo above: Shed founder Denis Wood (far left) and the Shed team.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 17
Because of Denis’s property maintenance
work, tradesmen and technicians regularly
pop in to the Shed, where they meet
the shed blokes and see what they can do
as workers.
“People are getting more accepting.
We do sausage sizzles and the guys are in
your face. If you want a sausage, you have
to talk to them.”
As well as making blocks and kindling,
the Shed men upcycle and renovate furniture
and other items to sell on Trade Me.
They fi nd treasure in other people’s
trash, such as perfume bottles and antique
tools, and shape silver forks into quirky and
useful hooks.
Trade Me listings – apt and often hilarious
– are composed by Shed co-ordinator
Robert Cruickshank, who has a background
in advertising and sales. Robert refers to
himself as a ‘word strangler’ and is also
behind the Shed’s Facebook page, Tumblr
blog and website.
“I spent three years trying to get work
and failing, failing, failing,” says Robert,
who has Asperger’s syndrome.
“Particularly when you’re young,
Asperger’s affects your social processing
because you don’t know what you’re looking
at when a social situation comes along. You
don’t develop the friendship or networking
skills that help get jobs.”
He’s now thriving.
“I like having things stable and getting on
with the job. I fi nd the Shed very supportive,
better than other jobs in the past. I know
exactly what the job is and what’s expected
of me. I like the autonomy.”
As well as increasing the paid positions,
Denis has plans for the future.
“The Shed Project was founded on my
belief that with patience and understanding
we could achieve social change, whereby
older men could teach and mentor younger
men, and by incorporating the disability
sector an understanding and respect could
be realised between different groups of men.
“We offer a working and creative
environment where older and younger men
can co-exist, fostering mutual understanding
and the sharing of skills and knowledge.”
He’s also clear on what success looks like.
“We battle for these guys, just to give
them a normal life. The day I go to the pub
and see a couple of these guys there without
support people, I’ll know we’re winning.”
WEB LINKS
Find out more about the Kapiti Shed Project at http://shedproject.co.nzhttp://shedprojectkapiti.tumblr.comwww.facebook.com/shedprojectkapiti
Photo above right: Shed coordinator Robert Cruickshank.
“The day I go to the pub and see a couple of these guys there without support people, I’ll know we’re winning.“
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201418
Jobs were scarce for architecture graduates when 23-year-old Paul Organ and 22-year-old Kurt Meyer left the University of Auckland last year.
When they registered with Work and
Income to look for work, they confi ded that
they had an idea to create a business app for
boarding schools.
“I’d been a boarder at Mount Albert
Grammar School, so I knew how hard it is
for staff to manage students with pens and
clipboards,” explains Kurt. “We talked to
boarding schools around the world, and they
all had the same problem.”
Kurt and Paul gained the chance to
turn their idea into reality when Work and
Income referred them to ArtsLab at the
Depot Artspace in Devonport. ArtsLab is
a six-month employment and professional
development programme for people seeking
careers in creative industries.
ArtsLab manager Lynn Lawton says that
people referred by Work and Income are
fi rst assessed for their potential in work or
self-employment.
“I was convinced that Paul and Kurt had
the skills, and the knowledge of the boarding
school environment, along with the passion
and drive to give their business idea a really
good go.”
“The ArtsLab programme gave us the
support and time we needed to do the
development,” says Paul. “We were feeling
nervous and excited at the same time!”
The pair approached staff at Auckland
Grammar School, which Paul had attended,
as well as Mount Albert Grammar. Their
approach was welcomed by both high
schools who were keen to be involved in
the development. “We tested it with the
boarding staff and they told us how they
would like it to work,” says Kurt.
Boardingware is an iPad app for boarding
schools. Forget about paper-based systems,
say Kurt and Paul. The app lets staff manage
student boarders via tablet, mobile phone
or computer.
The app quickly took off. By August
this year there were 10 customers in New
Zealand and seven overseas, with predictions
of around 50 customers by the year’s end.
The business is now a team of four, with
two people on contract who have bought
into the business.
In November Kurt and Paul will showcas e
Boardingware at the American Association
of Boarding Schools’ conference in
Washington DC. “We have several
customers in the US who love what we are
doing and have encouraged us to attend,”
says Paul.
Paul and Kurt say they love everything
about their business and are grateful for
the possibilities that ArtsLab opened up
for them. There’s a good chance that the
two will develop more apps and continue
to grow their company, employing more
people and generating overseas income for
New Zealand.
“That’s our next dream,” says Paul.
“The ArtsLabprogramme gaveus the support andtime we needed.”
ArtsLab
Q: What do you get when you combine two talented jobseekers, a great idea and a lab that fosters young creatives into work?
A: A business with a future and jobs for four people.
Paul and Kurt with ArtsLab manager Lynn Lawton.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 19
It’s a Tuesday night in Flaxmere, and leaders from different Pacifi c communities and churches have gathered in the local community centre.
From Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati,
Tokelau, Tuvalu and the Cook Islands,
these men and women are keen to
learn how to lead the way against
family violence.
When they’ve fi nished their 16-week
course they will have the tools to run
stopping violence programmes in their
own communities.
Among the group is a mother
who says that she hopes parents
will learn different ways to discipline
their children.
“If we are brought up in a violent
discipline it is really hard to raise
children in another way – to know what
to do instead. We need to learn how to
raise our children differently.”
In the three years it has been
running, DOVE Hawke’s Bay’s Kainga
Pasifi ka programme has helped to
unite Pacifi c communities and churches
against family violence.
It’s a programme for change that
starts with leaders, developed in a
uniquely Pacifi c way by Tongan-born
Tevita Faka’osi, who is well known
in Flaxmere’s Pacifi c communities.
The businessman, church leader, Justice
of the Peace, employer and interpreter
is also the Kainga Pasifi ka co-ordinator
for DOVE Hawke’s Bay, a family
violence prevention organisation based
in Napier.
The Pacifi c way“I started looking at how to keep
families safe in a Pacifi c way. I said
to DOVE that if we want to reach
Pacifi c Islanders we need to involve
the community, we need to pick the
people who are respected in that
community, train them and send them
back to their community.”
The fi rst leader training took place in
2012, a 16-week course that focused
on helping participants to understand
family violence. For many church and
community leaders it was a personal
journey that challenged their own
attitudes and behaviour.
“They discovered that violence is
not OK. They learned the impact on
the families and children. Smacking is
a no-no, there is a better way,”
says Tevita.
“Then they started practising it
and they saw the change themselves.
Seeing it they believed it, and when
they believed it, they could change it.”
Since 2012, 22 church and
community leaders have gone through
the programme and taken further
training to lead stopping violence
programmes in their own communities.
They’ve already seen a drop in the
incidence of violence – people are
fi nding guidance and help from their
own leaders and churches, rather than
reaching the point where agencies like
New Zealand Police or Child, Youth and
Family are needed.
Call to actionIn 2013, the Offi ce of the Children’s
Commissioner (OCC) invited faith
leaders from all over New Zealand to
take a stand against family violence.
Leaders from churches across
Hastings attended workshops alongside
those already involved with the DOVE
Kainga Pasifi ka programme.
Subsequently, a think tank of
local church leaders and family
violence prevention practitioners
formed to support faith communities
in Hawke’s Bay.
About 128 church leaders from 36
congregations have since attended
training to respond to family violence
and partner abuse, as well as learn about
child protection, policy and protocols.
Family violence specialist and
counsellor Kara Duncan-Hewitt has
played a pivotal role.
In Hastings, diverse church and community leaders are learning to lead a united stand against family violence.
Sanctuaries and safe havens
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201420
A survivor of a violent relationship,
Kara has a passion to see faith
communities do more to support and
heal people affected by family violence.
“I once thought that my only way
out of my own abusive marriage was to
die. After all, marriage was supposed to
be forever and I feared, because of my
belief at the time, being on the wrong
side of God if I left.
“Faith leaders can preach from the
pulpit, they can lead from the top down,
they are often the fi rst people to be
contacted in family crises. It just makes
sense for them to know how to respond.
“For some people the church is their
whole life, and their whole social life.
While family violence services support
victims and perpetrators in many
practical ways, faith communities can
foster healing in the long term – they
are like a family.
“My hope is that faith communities
will become known as safe places for
victims and perpetrators to go for the help
they need.”
This initiative is supported by the
Hastings District Council, the OCC and
the ‘It’s not OK’ campaign.
Out in the openKayren Hatherell, pastor at Hastings’
independent Church of the Way, says
leadership from the OCC has opened
the way for churches to be open about
family violence.
“Many times we were called to a
family crisis but family violence and
child abuse weren’t ever talked about.
“We attended the OCC workshop
in Wellington and came back saying,
‘Yay, we can do it now, it can be
out in the open now’. And that has
certainly strengthened what we are
already doing.”
Spiritual wellbeingChris Badger is a counsellor who
works with victims of domestic violence.
“I was seeing client after client
coming in as a result of domestic abuse
– they would have been about 60 to 70
percent of my clients.
“With rates like that I thought
family violence must be in our church
community too, and if it is in our church
community, what are we going to do
about it?”
She belongs to Hastings’ Station
Community Church, which sent
representatives to the OCC workshop
in Wellington.
“At our church we have our pastor
and six other people involved in family
violence workshops.
“It is giving more eyes on this issue,
and teaching people to take a second
look and ask the right questions.
“My ideal would be that pastors
and leaders embrace the training, put
policies in place to protect vulnerable
people in their own community, and
offer support and training.”
John Drower, elder at S tation
Church, says churches should be
safe places.
“But to be safe we need to know
how to respond to family violence.
We have recognised stuff in the past,
but not necessarily had processes in
place to handle it. Now we’ve realised
we need to be more proactive.”
WEB LINK
This work is supported by the ‘It’s not OK’ campaign. Find out more at www.areyouok.org.nz
“Seeing it they believed it, and when they believed it,
they could change it.”
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 21
Spotlight on Northland
“It’s pretty satisfying toknow that we are helpingpeople who have beenreally aff ected.”
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201422
Spotlight on Northland
Northland growers and farmers could only stand by and watch in dismay as the worst storms and fl ooding in decades battered their crops and farms in July.
As the clean-up began, Maungakaramea
avocado grower Kathy Woods raced against
the clock to harvest thousands of avocados
lying beneath storm-battered trees on her
22-hectare orchard.
She was one of numerous Northland
growers estimated to have suffered a
collective industry loss of up to $13 million in
lost production, lost trees and tree damage.
She was also among the fi rst to receive
no-cost help from the Enhanced Task Force
Green crews, who were activated to help
with the clean-up.
Unemployed locals were recruited to
the teams, with the Ministry of Social
Development paying their wages and
the Northland Regional Council overseeing
the work.
For Manu Bilich, joining the Enhanced
Task Force Green clean-up team was both
a chance to work and a chance to lead. He
jumped at the opportunity.
With strong Te Uri o Hau ties, Manu had
lived and worked in Australia for the previous
10 years. Last year he returned home to
Ruakaka with his partner and two children
to care for his sick mother.
It was the right move, to be home with
whänau, and he was ready to work. But the
hard reality was that work wasn’t as plentiful
as it had been across the Tasman.
Manu had a wealth of experience and
qualifi cations in security, but he struggled to
fi nd work in his fi eld. He took a casual role
at the port and registered with Work and
Income as an active jobseeker.
Manu’s determination and initiative
quickly shone through to work brokers,
who keenly recommended him for
a leadership role with the Enhanced Task
Force Green clean-up. Not scared of change
and excited by the unknown, the former
security guard decided he would try his
hand at it.
In two months, Manu and his crew mates
have cleaned up 70 properties, in places
from the Far North to Whangarei. The crews
have worked on orchards and dairy, beef
and sheep farms, where they have repaired
fences, cleared debris and damaged crops,
and removed fallen trees.
Manu says the work has been hard
but rewarding. The experience of leading
a crew and the satisfaction of helping
people will be the two things he will
remember most, he says.
“It’s pretty satisfying to know that we
are helping people who have been really
affected. It is also really humbling when I am
able to guide some of my crew mates when
they aren’t sure of what to do.
“We have all worked really hard and I’m
looking forward to whatever opportunities
come about from it.”
When the clean-up fi nishes, Work and
Income will support the crew members into
other jobs.
As for avocado grower Kathy Woods, she
was delighted and grateful for the arrival
of several , much-needed extra pairs of
hands so early in the clean-up, saying it was
“really, really great”.
Key factsNorthland
spans from Te Hana in the south to Cape Reinga in the far north.
The economy
is based on agriculture, horticulture, tourism, forestry and wood processing, construction and marine engineering. Emerging industries include mining, aquaculture and the creative sector.
148,470 people
live in Northland. Nearly one third of Northland’s population is Maori – more than double the proportion for all of New Zealand.
Whangarei
contains one third of Northland’s population. The remainder live in small towns and rural areas.
Storm force
Northland
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 23
Spotlight on Northland
Courage and a determination to do better for her children have turned Letitia Noah’s life around, along with a resolute work broker and a committed employer.
Letitia Noah has made a commitment
to herself and her children to never look
back. But today the 46-year-old is going
to delve into her past in the hope that
her life change may inspire others to do
the same.
Letitia is quiet and shy, but she
is determined – she needs others to
know her story. She talks quietly of
growing up in state care without her
family, being physically, sexually and
verbally abused as a child, the lack
of contact with some of her grown
children, the loss of a partner to cancer,
and suffering from a severe case of the
chronic autoimmune disease lupus.
But for Letitia, rock bottom came
with the loss of her 12-day-old son,
born prematurely in August 2013.
Her eyes fi ll with tears as she explains
how, in those darkest of times, she lost
herself to alcohol.
“After I buried my son I went into
a downward spiral. I drank solidly for
a month. I can’t remember most of it.
The only memory is of the morning that
I decided that I needed to change.”
It was a change, she says, that
saved her life and changed the lives of
her children.
“I was woken one morning, after
a few days of binge drinking, by my
two children crying and saying they
were hungry.
“I went to look in the fridge and
there was nothing but bottles for me.
Then I went to the cupboard and there
was nothing but bottles for me.
“I didn’t know the last time they had
been fed. Even after all these years of
being on a benefi t I had never let my
children go hungry.
“When your children have looks of
hunger and desperation in their eyes,
you have to change. That was my
turning point.”
Letitia’s mood lifts as she describes
how her children are now the happiest
she has ever seen them. She says they’re
happy because they know their mother
is committed to giving them the best
she can.
She says words can’t express
the positive impact her work has had
on her family.
“They are walking around with their
heads held high. Their attitudes have
Work and Income workbroker Chrissy Murray with Letitia.
Where she wants to be
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201424
Spotlight on Northland
lifted and their pukus are full. We have
heaps of barriers in life, but I want
my kids to know that we are never
going back.”
This month Letitia celebrates her
one-year anniversary of working at
Edgewater Palm Apartments in Paihia.
It is a real milestone, given that she
had been out of the workforce for
almost 20 years.
Edgewater manager Nicki Kempthorne
says Letitia is a dependable, honest,
happy and loyal team player.
“She is happy to work on her own
and requires no leadership. In fact,
leadership has now become her role
– as we head into the summer season
she will run a team of six staff.”
It’s a stark contrast to how Letitia
describes the person she was one
year ago.
Depressed and grieving, she could
hardly bring herself to attend a Work
and Income employment seminar.
But she did.
She was so overwhelmed that
she decided she wasn’t going back.
But she did.
Every little step along the path to work
was challenging, especially photographs.
As a lupus sufferer, she has large
skin rashes on her face, which make her
self-conscious. She was horrifi ed to learn
that an employer might see her photo.
She’d never attended an interview either.
Work and Income workbroker
Chrissy Murray could see how little
self-belief and how much insecurity Letitia
had. “But I saw warmth and potential.”
Chrissy made a beeline for Letitia,
and worked closely with her as she
prepared for work. She also convinced
Nicki at Edgewater Palm Apartments
to consider recruiting from Work
and Income.
“Together we are piloting a training
programme with Work and Income that
transitions people from benefi ts into
paid employment,” says Nicki.
While Letitia struggled to sell
herself during the interview, Nicki says
she showed a defi nite and genuine
willingness to work. She says Letitia is
proof that the pilot training programme
can work.
Letitia says Chrissy and Nicki went
above and beyond to support her.
Chrissy continues to provide pastoral
and in-work support. And Nicki’s offer
for Letitia and her children to stay two
nights in the fi ve-star hotel completely
blew her away.
“On top of giving me a job and extra
hours, encouraging me to step up, and
training me to become a supervisor,
she gave me and my kids the best
Christmas we’ve ever had,” says Letitia.
“She accepted me, but she also showed
me that I could be more.”
Sometimes people ask Letitia,
“Where to from here?”.
Her reply is, “I’m already there.
“This is where I have always wanted
to be, a hardworking, happy mother .
I value myself and the work I do.”
“She is happy to work on her own and requires no leadership. In fact,
leadership has now become her role”.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 25
Spotlight on xxxxSpotlight on xxxx Spotlight on Waikato
“He had more hope in me than I had in my own self.”
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201426
Spotlight on xxxx Spotlight on xxxxSpotlight on Waikato
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and for Susan Mahara that saying rings true.
The 50-something-year-old is happily
employed in the kitchen at Waikato’s
Trevellyn Lifestyle Care and Village, a rest
home and residential care facility.
She puts her success down to communal
support and encouragement and to this
day still can’t believe how much confi dence
others had in her along the way.
She remembers one Work and Income case
manager telling her, “You can do it, whaea”.
“He had more hope in me than I had in
my own self,” she says.
The road to employment began when
Susan was selected for work-focused case
management, a service that helps people to
prepare for employment.
At the time she was on a widow’s benefi t,
working voluntarily at a local community
centre as a cleaner and kitchen hand.
She wondered why ‘they’ wanted her to
work at her age. But her case manager was
confi dent that she could work – and get paid
for it.
An opportunity then arose for Susan to
participate in a caregiving and hospitality
course. She agreed to meet the course
provider and remembers thinking, “Please
don’t pick me”. But when selection time
came, they did.
Not wanting to be late on her fi rst day,
Susan caught the 7am bus into town and
was exceptionally early.
As for the course: “When the book came
out... and I’m reading through it… I was
just…”. Susan stops and stares into space.
She’s unsure how she made it through that
fi rst day; she didn’t think she was going
to make it.
“The fi rst week was the longest week,
but in the second I had more confi dence.
When the course fi nished I was just getting
into it! Those six weeks went so fast.”
Her course included two weeks’ work
experience at Trevellyn Lifestyle Care and
Village and at St Joan’s Hospital and Rest
Home, both in the kitchen.
After those two weeks ended Susan’s
phone rang. It was one of the Trevellyn
managers asking if she could go in for
an interview.
Armed with new-found interview skills
from the course, Susan got the job.
Now, as a part-timer and reliever
at Trevellyn, most weeks she works at least
15 hours, sometimes more than 30.
Up until now Susan has bought most
of her clothes from second-hand shops,
but her moko (grandchildren) have told
her that she can now afford to buy
brand-new clothes.
“And I have – I went and got me two new
tops and not from the second-hand shop.”
Despite her part-time work Susan still
receives a benefi t, albeit reduced depending
on her earnings, but she’s determined to fi nd
full-time work and come off it altogether.
Susan is thankful to those who have
helped her on her journey so far, especially
her case managers, course tutor and the
staff at Trevellyn and St Joan’s. Not one to
take credit, she reluctantly concedes that
maybe her hard work has also had something
to do with it.
You can do it, whaea
Key factsWork and Income
works with a range of industries to train our jobseekers with the right skills for the job, and to fi ll skill or labour shortages.
Employers
can save time and money with skilled workbrokers fi nding the right people for the job, and supporting them to succeed in work. We can tailor our no-cost recruitment service to meet employers’ needs, including wage subsidies, training and in-work support. Free phone 0800 778 008.
Work-focusedcase management
is about personalised support for people who need extra help to get back into work. That can include training and mentoring, help to arrange transport and child care, help to buy work clothes, managing debt, budgeting and life skills.
WEB LINK
Find out more about our employer services www.workandincome.govt.nz/business
Waikato
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 27
A good match
Ray Woolly has had Lance Archuleta on his payroll for the past year. The boss of Hamilton garage door company Windsor Doors couldn’t be happier with 23-year-old Lance, even though he’d set out looking to recruit someone much older.
Ray’s previous experiences were that
young guys “broke things and wouldn’t
turn up for work”. This time when Ray
started looking for a new installer, he
wanted someone mature, married, with
a stable family life, maybe a mortgage
– someone who wanted to work, had a
reason to work and would turn up.
Knowing that Work and Income
helped people into employment and
helped employers to fi nd staff, offi ce
manager Lynda Jordain called to see
who was on its books. She met up with
Work Broker Sue Crackett to talk about
what they needed.
When Sue heard about the sort of
character they were looking for, she
followed her gut instinct and put forward
just one person for the position – Lance.
Lance was not the older person Ray
had envisaged. He was young, 23 in
fact, not married, with no children or a
mortgage – hardly the person Ray had
in mind.
What he did have was the right
attitude, and that was enough for Ray.
Lance had been a caregiver for a
number of years. When that job ended
he had picked up some contract work
laying cables. However, a downturn in
the industry meant his contract was not
renewed and he found himself living off
his savings and eventually applying for
the unemployment benefi t.
In Lance’s fi rst three months at
Windsor Doors, the company received a
wage subsidy from Work and Income to
help pay for training. He was teamed up
with experienced installer Rob Sutton,
who also helped to train him.
“Lance has picked it up quickly.
It’s not a hard job, but not everyone can
do it,”says Rob.
“If he wanted to he could go further
– to a sales rep and even to a branch
manager,” says Rob. “He’s learning the
business from the ground up.”
He’s happy with the way that Lance
has turned out and says he’ll turn
to Work and Income to recruit staff
next time.
Ask Lance about the job and he says,
“You’re standing on your own two
feet. Work keeps you busy and it gives
you security, and you can buy what
you want.”
Lance’s tip for jobseekers and new
employees is to be willing to fi t in and
learn a new set of skills.
WEB LINK
Learn more about how Work and Income can help employers to recruit and train their workforce. www.workandincome.govt.nz/business
Spotlight on xxxxSpotlight on Waikato
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201428
Spotlight on xxxxSpotlight on Waikato
Turning points
Just over a year ago Blake (not his real name) was on the brink of a prison sentence after a string of bad decisions, alcohol and drug abuse and repeat offending.
Today it’s a completely different
story. The 17-year-old is a new dad.
He’s clean and sober and fi nding the
potential that his social worker Pam
Porter always knew he had.
But it wasn’t that long ago that
Blake’s drug and alcohol abuse, repeat
offending and failure to complete any
of his Youth Court plans saw him sent
to a youth justice residence fi ve times
between 2011 and 2013.
His latest court-ordered sentence of
fi ve months’ supervision-with-residence,
starting in May 2013 followed by a
six-month supervision order, was his
last chance.
The Youth Court judge told Blake
that if he breached or offended again
he’d wind up in the District Court and
be sentenced to prison due to the
magnitude of the charges.
But for the fi rst time Blake completed
a Youth Court plan and he hasn’t
reoffended in more than 14 months.
“If things hadn’t clicked for me this
time I’d probably be in jail,” says Blake.
His turning point came when he
was ordered to attend a military-style
activity camp (MAC) programme
in Christchurch, delivered by the
New Zealand Defence Force.
“MAC opened my eyes. They taught
us the reality of what we were doing
and what we could have in life,”
says Blake.
“Physically it was mean, because I like
running and keeping fi t, and it pushes
you mentally and physically – any boys
going through the courts should have
an opportunity to do it.”
Blake also credits Rick and Linda
Wiringi’s Life Skills for Life programme
in Hamurana for its part in his journey.
Life Skills for Life consists of three
key components: education and
training (forestry), social and personal
development, and drug and alcohol
education and rehabilitation.
“Rick shows you respect no matter
what and I hadn’t had that before,”
says Blake.
Pam, who’s known Blake since 2010,
says Life Skills for Life and MAC have
changed him enormously.
“He used to be self-pitying but now
he takes responsibility for his own
actions and stops blaming everybody
else. That’s made a huge difference,”
she says.
Fatherhood is also helping to keep
Blake on track.
“I want to be a good father. I want
to be a good role model to my son,
and I want him to be proud of me.”
And Pam knows that’s realistic.
“For someone Blake’s age, he’s
very responsible and mature, and his
commitment to this child is huge.”
Pam knew halfway through his plan
that he’d turned a corner.
“This was the fi rst time that he’d
shown a willingness to make that change
and be different, and any change had to
come from within.
“He’s remained positive and
committed to maintaining the changes
he has made in himself and to his
lifestyle, and I’m really proud of him,”
she says.
Blake acknowledges that his past
actions and offending have affected
everyone, including himself.
“I know that temptations are always
out there, but when I look back on
what I did it is hard to understand why
I did them.
“I look at the past few years and
I wasted so much time. Everyone knows
the past is the past and it won’t change,
but the past has made me who I am
today and I would like to think that
I am a good dad and a good person.”
Education and training (forestry)
Social and personal development
Drug and alcohol educationand rehabilitation
Military-style activity camp (MAC)
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 29
round-up Regional
Southern Southern Cosy Homes: Work and Income Southern is working with other local organisations on the Cosy
Homes Project. The goal is that everyone lives in a home that is warm and healthy by 2025. The project
is still new, but work is under way to help low-income clients gain cheap or free insulation services.
Constructing Futures initiative: Housing New Zealand maintenance contractors are now recruiting
their staff from Work and Income jobseekers. Work and Income has been working with the Department
of Corrections to fi nd people who meet the needs of lead contractors and subcontractors.
Whänau services: Child, Youth and Family Dunedin has teamed up with Te Hou Ora Whänau Services
to launch the Te Ara Taiohi programme, which adapts to meet the individual needs of young people
and their whänau.
Canterbury Canterbury $3k to Christchurch: A new initiative to help with labour shortages in Canterbury is proving effective in
connecting Canterbury employers with skilled jobseekers from other areas. So far it has helped more
than 400 Work and Income jobseekers to move to Canterbury and fi nd work.
Thank you: Ministry of Social Development staff in Canterbury received many messages of support
following the Ashburton tragedy on 1 September. Other staff came from across the country to support
Canterbury staff and deliver client services through a diffi cult time.
Sharing knowledge: Te Oranga Care and Protection Residence is hosting training for professionals
across sectors working with young people. The training is based on the Neurosequential Model
of Therapeutics, which is a relatively new approach getting good results with at-risk youth.
Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast Getting ready: Child, Youth and Family West Coast has teamed up with Civil Defence and local
city councils to develop a strong welfare response during a civil defence event, including running
welfare centres.
Seasonal jobs: Horticulture, viticulture, retail, hospitality and tourism will provide the bulk of new job
opportunities in the next few months across the top of the South. Buller and the West Coast will also
see increased opportunities with the annual infl ux of tourists. The apple sector is the major seasonal
industry employer in Nelson/Tasman, providing apple thinning jobs from around October to Christmas.
But the big demand for workers comes through the picking and packing season from February to May.
Work and Income starts early with seminars to prepare jobseekers for the work and meet with employers.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201430
Central Central Children’s Team: The Horowhenua/Otaki Children’s Team began operating in September.
Children’s Teams are a new initiative to connect professionals from health, education, welfare
and social services into a single team to give individual support to vulnerable children and their
families. Children’s Teams have operated in Rotorua and Whangarei since 2013. Horowhenua/
Otaki is one of eight new teams now setting up elsewhere.
Students: During the summer, StudyLink Student Support Centres are very busy helping people
with fi nancial support for study. To help the 150 permanent StudyLink offi cers in Palmerston
North in the peak time, the Centre has taken on more than 100 temporary staff. Some of these are
Work and Income jobseekers who took an intensive four-week course covering key aspects of the role.
Wellington Wellington Healthier Porirua: A Social Sector Trial is under way in Porirua. The vision is that by working
more closely together, social service agencies can improve the health of the Porirua community –
keeping people well and providing prompt local treatment when people are ill. The trial began in
August 2013 and progress towards its goals has been impressive. The trial has been extended for
a further two years.
Hutt Valley partnership: The Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce is promoting Work and Income
clients to its members. The Chamber and Work and Income have signed a contract that sees
jobseekers undergo training to be work-ready for when employers have vacancies for staff. The goal
is that up to 150 clients will be employed during the next 12-months.
Taranaki, King Country and WhanganuiTaranaki, King Country and WhanganuiWhite Ribbon Day: On 25 November the Taumarunui community will reveal its new mural in the
middle of the town, painted with anti-family-violence messages created by local school children.
Vulnerable kids: Professionals from health, education and social services in Hawera have got
together with Child Matters and Child, Youth and Family to learn more about supporting vulnerable
children by knowing what to look for, understanding the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 and the
Children’s Action Plan, and knowing how to report a concern to Child, Youth and Family.
Recruiting for Taranaki employers: Work and Income has connected with Taranaki employers at the
Chamber of Commerce Members Showcase, to promote wage and training subsidies and recruitment
services, and to attract job opportunities for clients with employers planning to recruit in the coming months.
East CoastEast CoastWork for young people: Gisborne Work and Income organised an Industries for Youth programme
in September with a recruitment drive, including visits to worksites and employers. Out of 30 young
people, most gained work following the event.
Sefton House: A house for young people with high-need disabilities opened in Havelock North
in August, backed by the Open Home Foundation, Hawke’s Bay District Health Board and Child,
Youth and Family. Sefton House caters for two young people long-term and two on a respite basis.
Drive for work: Lacking a driver licence is a major barrier to gaining a job. Three hundred and seventy
East Coast region Work and Income clients are training for learners’, restricted and full driver licences.
They will complete professional instruction by the end of the year.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 31
Bay of Plenty Bay of Plenty Community guidance: Community response hui across the Bay of Plenty have been gathering
people’s thoughts on the issues facing young people, what success would look like for communities,
and where money should be invested to make a difference.
Award: Youth in Emergency Services (YES) won the Education and Child/Youth Development
category at the Trustpower Taupö District Community Awards recently. YES is a joint project of the
Ministry of Youth Development and Mangakino and Turangi emergency services, offering young
people a chance to get involved with local emergency services.
Mountain jobs: Twenty unemployed young people from the Central Plateau area gained pre-season and
in-work training on the Whakapapa and Turoa ski fi elds through the Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Cadetship programme.
Waikato Waikato Waikato Expressway: Work and Income has teamed up with recruitment agency Advanced Personnel
to provide staff to work on a brand-new section of State Highway 1 – the Cambridge section of the
Waikato Expressway. More than 30 Work and Income clients have been placed into work on the
roading construction project. We expect more to be placed when work begins on the Huntly section
of the Waikato Expressway next year.
New Kmart, new jobs: Kmart is opening a new store in Te Rapa, Hamilton in November. Work
and Income has managed this recruitment as part of the national agreement we have with Kmart.
More than 80 people have gained jobs at the new store.
Auckland Auckland Building workers: A Skills for Industry partnership with the Russell Group saw 26 Work and Income
clients training in-house with the company for a month. As well as construction skills, they focused
on literacy, numeracy and money management. The Russell Group offered permanent work to
21 of them, of whom 13 will continue their development in the company’s Core Strength literacy
programme. Read the full story at http://eeotrust.org.nz/awards/winners.cfm?content_id=22273
Foster Care Awareness Week: Caregivers provide the hearts and homes of Child, Youth and
Family. They are ordinary people who do an extraordinary job in providing love, care and support to
the children who need it most. The Auckland sites of Child, Youth and Family acknowledge and thank
each of their incredible caregivers.
Northland Northland Project Haere: Northland is taking an innovative approach to moving clients from benefi t to work
and personal independence. The Te Aupouri Mäori Trust Board trains, employs and mentors 18 to
24-year-olds and accommodates them to work on Christchurch rebuild projects. Intensive pastoral
support and a highly structured work-life environment help the young people to focus on working
hard and developing themselves through night classes and sport.
Northland cadetship success: Long-term employment is now a reality for 37 young Northlanders
who have taken part in cadetships in the past six months. The Northland Regional and Whangarei
District Councils’ cadetship resulted in jobs for fi ve of seven cadets. Two Corporate Cadetships saw
30 young people complete a business programme and gain work placements with local organisations.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 201432
Subscribe to RiseSubscribe to the printed magazine or Rise online (along with other Ministry publications and newsletters) viawww.msd.govt.nz/subscriptions
There is no charge to subscribe.
Rise onlinewww.msd.govt.nz/rise
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Please email us at [email protected]
Rise in print, online or iPad – it’s your choice
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
I S S U E 24 – S EP T EM B ER 2013
Between us all – Te Ku- iti unites for young people
Aotearoa Reggae Allstars – singing against child abuse
Never give up – soccer’s Ben Sigmund and
Limited Service Volunteers
Whakakotahi
“What is the most important thing in the world? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”
“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Mäku e kı atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
I S S U E 25 – D ECEM B ER 201325 – D E
It’s Not OK – tackling family violence in the heartland
Home for life – the foster family with a dream home
Onjeurlina Leiataua – our youngest Black Fern
Achievement
“What is the most important thing in the world? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”
“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Mäku e kı atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”
From lost to leaders – former refugees make their mark
“What is the most important thing in the world? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”
“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Mäku e kï atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”
Kaha
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTISSUE 26 – MARCH 2014
“W“What is the most importWhat is the most important thhat is the most important thing“What is the most important tan ng in the wog in the world? the world?the worhee wwwoorrldd?annt t thingthinng in the wn the rld? I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is peop tell you. It is peell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!ople, iss people it is peops people, it is peos people, it is peois people, it ple!leple!e!it it is eop e, i leplele, ple ”””
“He“He aha te mea nui o te ao?He aha te mte mea nui o te aonuite mea nui o te aao? ao? Mäku e kï atu He tangata he tangatMäku e kï atu. He t. He tangata, hHe t gata, hHe tangata, he thehee ttanngatataa hhe tahee tangaannggatta!””Mäku e kï atu. He tangata, he tangatäku e kïku e k tangatata,a, hhehe e ttaan atta!a!”
Homes for those i
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTISSUE 27 – JUNE 2014
Tips, links and newsThe conference will examine and discuss effective child abuse prevention systems and explore innovations in prevention and intervention – from community-basedprogrammes, to indigenous initiatives and practices, to therapeutic health and family interventions, to statutory child protection and criminal justice responses.
RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 33
can you give a young person
All young people need a safe, loving home.
If you can offer love, care and a sense of belonging
to a child or teenager, please call us now:
0508 FAMILY (0508 326 459)
a home?nggg