Ā Mātou Ratonga

Te Ao Hou (new beginnings) – Wānanga are held one day a week for 10 weeks, in term time, four times per year. 10-20 participants attend each wānanga series. PSS have been successfully delivering wānanga for two years. The majority of our wānanga are held outdoors, utilising the Taiao as a vehicle for change. Wānanga include life-skills, resilience, healing, intensive peer support, specialist mental health and addictions advice/intervention, individualised packages of care, and coordination support. Whānau experience development of, and improvement in, personal capability and problem solving. Whānau gain access to specialist services and solutions typically unavailable to them. Outcomes include improved relationships, engagement in education/employment, a reduction in substance abuse/problem gambling, and a reduction in criminal offending.

Te Ao Hou content is always changing and adapting to the needs of the whānau attending. We work with whānau over a long period of time. We are working with high and complex social needs; it takes time to establish relationships and create trust. Whānau have autonomy by choosing what wānanga they attend. The intensive support offered to participants often involves creating safety plans; standard advice given is to call emergency services to help de-escalate situations.

Te Hāpai Rangatahi wānanga includes activities to build on positive connection and trust within the group. Outdoor activities in te taiao helps create positive change and provides opportunities for social and personal development.

With deliberate incorporation of traditional Māori sites and Pūrākau to support rangatahi to feel connected, gain a sense of belonging and access to safe spaces in the environment.

We aim to create environments that foster Tuakana-Teina relationships through older person to younger person / peer-to-peer support with intention to build self-confidence, empowerment, engagement in transferrable life skills, and safe spaces for young people to share their stories and build meaningful relationships.

Wānanga is delivered during school holidays across five sessions to rangatahi aged 12-18 years, with a maximum of 12 participants per term. Additional mentoring and support, outside the wānanga sessions, is available.

Tūhono Wāhine ki te Wāhine (connecting women to women) wānanga runs one day a week, in term time.  Activities emphasise the importance of cultivating resilience and healing.

Wānanga aims to restore connection to Te Ao Māori through whakapapa, arts, raranga, rongoa, and pūrākau.  We utilise te taiao as a vehicle for change, connecting wāhine to the whenua and our earth Mother, Papatūānuku.

Content includes life skills, budgeting, goal setting, education, and employment prospects.  Wāhine gain tools and skills that allow them to learn and grow in a space of tau.

Tūhono Wāhine is designed to awhi wāhine on their journey of discovery, to walk beside them and tautoko the future they endeavour.

“He wāhine, he whenua, e ngaro ai te tangata”.

Te Roro-o-te-rangi challenged his men in a rousing speech which has been passed on to his descendants as a whakataukī (proverb):

“Ruia taitea, ruia taitea, kia tu ko taikākā anake, ko ahau anake”
Shake off the sapwood – retain the strong wood and I alone will stand.

Tāne Taikākā wānanga issues a challenge to tāne to shed the sapwood so that they will be left with a core of strength to endure.

Taking this whakatauki as a beacon, tāne will be encouraged to engage in a ten-week wānanga discovering the strength of pūrākau, whakapapa, and turangawaewae.  The whare tapa whā model of health is coordinated into sessions to develop an understanding of wairua, hinengaro, tinana, and whānau necessary to tautoko tāne into the future.

One-to-one support is offered to all whānau referred to PSS, alongside wānanga.  Pou Tiaki provide individual tautoko including goal settings, safety plans, advocacy, and any other wrap-around support they require.  Pou Tiaki awhi whānau with any barriers they face such as housing, care and protection, police matters, and mental health and addictions support. Pou Tiaki advocate for whānau and connect them with appropriate services.