Rise issue 28

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ISSUE 28 – NOVEMBER 2014

“He aha te mea nui o te ao?

Mäku e kï atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!”

“What is the most important thing in the world?

I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!”

Community Joining up for Kawerau kids – Social Sector Trials Cyber marae – connecting young Māori Shed Project – opening the community to disabled people

Welcome

Northland Auckland Bay of Plenty Waikato

This issue of Rise is about community Nelson/

Taranaki/ King Country/ Whanganui

East Coast Central

Marlborough/ West Coast

Wellington Canterbury

Southern

Brendan Boyle Chief Executive

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 profile 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 official 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.

ii RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

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

Contents Cover story

5 Joining up for Kawerau kids

Leaders and organisations are joining forces for the babies, kids and young people of Kawerau – and rebuilding a community in the process.

Feature stories

2 Technology, tikanga and a tin shed

In 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.

5

10 Kids and animals

Canterbury SPCA is giving children in care a hands-on chance to care for animals.

11 KickStart

A public-private-community partnership means more Kiwi kids are starting their school day on a full stomach.

14 Migrating to meaningful work

The Job Mentoring Service in Wellington helps skilled migrants and refugees bring their talents to the New Zealand workforce.

16 Changing the world, one shed at a time

The Kapiti Shed Project is opening up the world for disabled people on the Kapiti Coast.

19 ArtsLab

11 16 Contact Rise Drop us a line at rise@msd.govt.nz

In Hastings, diverse church and community leaders are learning to lead a united stand against family violence.

22 Spotlight on Northland

A 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.

A 17-year-old turns away from crime and drugs, an employer finds the right young guy for the job, and a new world in work opens up for 50-something Susan Mahara.

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20 Sanctuaries and safe havens

26 Spotlight on Waikato

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Rise online

What do you get when you combine two talented jobseekers, a great idea and a lab that fosters young creatives into work?

Regular columns

30 Regional round-up 33 Tips, links and news – ACCAN 2015, and Rise contacts RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 1

Technology, tikanga and a tin shed

2 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

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.

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 communityminded 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 Māori

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.

Tareha 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.

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Positive star quality Tipene 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 4 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

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

Tareha O’Reilly, founder of AWA Transmedia Studio. 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.

‘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 tikanga Cyber 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.com www.facebook.com/ AWATransmediaStudio Download the free AWA app for iPhone and Android at: www.reverbnation.com/ awatransmediastudio

Leaders and organisations are joining forces for the babies, kids and young people of Kawerau – and rebuilding a community in the process.

Joining up for Kawerau kids RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 5

“It’s not easy.

We’re dealing with multiple problems that require multiple responses.”

Kevan McConnell

Mihiata O’Brien 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 6 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

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.

Kevan Since 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

Photo credit: NZ Herald

Helen Tuhoro

Warwick Godfrey 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.

Warwick Warwick 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 table So 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.

Tahu Nehua 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.

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 7

Mayor Malcolm Campbell Faylene Tunui

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 Dolls Meet 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.

Faylene Kawerau-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, 8 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

Nanny Dolls 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.

Joel Across 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 needed The 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.”

WEB LINKS

Photo credit: NZ Herald

Learn more about Social Sector Trials in Kawerau and other New Zealand communities: http://www.msd.govt.nz/ kawerau-sst-action-plan http://www.msd.govt.nz/ social-sector-trials

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.”

Mihiata Mihiata, 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 leaders Kevan 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.”

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 9

Kids and animals

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.”

10 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

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.

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

12 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

“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.

KickStart acknowledged The 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 Breakfast https://kickstartbreakfast.co.nz

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 13

kia ora

kia ora

Migrating to meaningful work Haiou Wang is excited.

She’s nervous too, but mostly excited.

The Chinese native is about to start her first job in her adopted New Zealand.

14 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

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 BosniaHerzegovina, 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 match Matching 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

16 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

Changing the world, one shed at a time Step inside the Kapiti Shed Project and the conifer scent of macrocarpa is the first thing you notice.

One man smooths the rough edges of macrocarpa blocks with a sanding machine.

Another uses sandpaper to finish 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 fish 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 find 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 artificially 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 first 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.”

Photo above: Shed founder Denis Wood (far left) and the Shed team.

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 17

“The day I go to the pub and see a couple of these guys there without support people, I’ll know we’re winning.“ Photo above right: Shed coordinator Robert Cruickshank.

18 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

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 find 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 find 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.nz http://shedprojectkapiti.tumblr.com www.facebook.com/shedprojectkapiti

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.

ArtsLab Paul and Kurt with ArtsLab manager Lynn Lawton.

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 confided 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

“The ArtsLab programme gave us the support and time we needed.”

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 first 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 showcase 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.

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 19

Sanctuaries and safe havens In Hastings, diverse church and community leaders are learning to lead a united stand against family violence.

It’s a Tuesday night in Flaxmere, and leaders from different Pacific 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 finished 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 Pasifika programme has helped to unite Pacific communities and churches against family violence.

It’s a programme for change that starts with leaders, developed in a uniquely Pacific way by Tongan-born Tevita Faka’osi, who is well known in Flaxmere’s Pacific communities.

The businessman, church leader, Justice

20 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

of the Peace, employer and interpreter is also the Kainga Pasifika co-ordinator for DOVE Hawke’s Bay, a family violence prevention organisation based in Napier.

The Pacific way “I started looking at how to keep families safe in a Pacific way. I said to DOVE that if we want to reach Pacific 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 first 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 finding 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 action In 2013, the Office 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 Pasifika 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.

“Seeing it they believed it, and when they believed it, they could change it.”

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 first 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 open Kayren 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 wellbeing Chris 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 Station 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

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 21

Spotlight on Northland

“It’s pretty satisfying to know that we are helping people who have been really affected.”

22 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

Northland

Spotlight on Northland

Storm force Northland growers and farmers could only stand by and watch in dismay as the worst storms and flooding 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 first 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 qualifications in security, but he struggled to find work in his field. 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 finishes, 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 facts Northland 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.

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 23

Spotlight on Northland

Work and Income workbroker Chrissy Murray with Letitia.

Where she wants to be 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

24 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

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 fill 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 benefit 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

Spotlight on Northland

“She is happy to work on her own and requires no leadership. In fact, leadership has now become her role”. 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 horrified 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 benefits into paid employment,” says Nicki.

While Letitia struggled to sell herself during the interview, Nicki says she showed a definite 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 five-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.”

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 25

Spotlight on xxxx Waikato

“He had more hope in me than I had in my own self.”

26 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

Spotlight Spotlight on Waikato on xxxx

Waikato You can do it, whaea 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 confidence 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 benefit, 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 confident 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 first 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 first day; she didn’t think she was going to make it.

“The first week was the longest week, but in the second I had more confidence.

When the course finished 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 benefit, albeit reduced depending on her earnings, but she’s determined to find 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.

Key facts Work and Income works with a range of industries to train our jobseekers with the right skills for the job, and to fill skill or labour shortages.

Employers can save time and money with skilled workbrokers finding 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-focused case 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

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 27

Spotlight on xxxx Waikato

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 find staff, office 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 benefit.

In Lance’s first 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.

28 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

“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 fit 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 Spotlight on Waikato on xxxx

Military-style activity camp (MAC)

Education and training (forestry)

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 finding 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 five times between 2011 and 2013.

His latest court-ordered sentence of five 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 first 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.

Social and personal development

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 fit, 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.

Drug and alcohol education and rehabilitation

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 first 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.”

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 29

Regional round-up 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 find 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 $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 find 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 difficult 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 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 influx 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.

30 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

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.

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 financial support for study. To help the 150 permanent StudyLink officers 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.

East Coast Work 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.

Taranaki, King Country and Whanganui White 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.

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 31

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 fields through the Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Cadetship programme.

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 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 Project Haere: Northland is taking an innovative approach to moving clients from benefit 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 five of seven cadets. Two Corporate Cadetships saw 30 young people complete a business programme and gain work placements with local organisations.

32 RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014

Tips, links and news The conference will examine and discuss effective child abuse prevention systems and explore innovations in prevention and intervention – from community-based programmes, to indigenous initiatives and practices, to therapeutic health and family interventions, to statutory child protection and criminal justice responses.

Rise in print, online or iPad – it’s your choice Rise for the iPad Rise is available as a digital iBook on your Apple iPad. As well as icking through the magazine on-screen, you can access extra video and photo galleries, and interactive web links. Plus it will update itself whenever a new issue is available.

Find it on the Apple iTunes App Store by searching for Rise magazine.

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MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

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ISSU E 24 – SEP T EM B ER 2013

ISSU E 25 – D EECEM B ER 2013

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ISSUE 27 – JUNE 2014

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“He aha te mea nui o te ao?

Mäku e kŨ atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!�

“He aha te mea nui o te ao?

Mäku e kŨ atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!�

“He aha te mea nui o te ao?

Mäku e kï atu. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!�

“He He aha te mea m nui o te a ao ao? o?

Mäku äku ku e kï k atu atu.. He ttangata, tangata gata, he he ttangat tangata an ngata ta ta, a he a, he ttanga ta an a ngatta! a!��

“What is the most important thing in the world?

I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!�

“What is the most important thing in the world?

I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!�

“What is the most important thing in the world?

I tell you. It is people, it is people, it is people!�

“What “W What hat is the most important importtan an nt th thin thing ng n g in n the he e wo w wor world? orrld? ld d?

I tell ell you. It is pe people, ople, ple le, it iss people, people eop e, it i is peop people! people ple! le e!�

Whakakotahi

Achievement

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Aotearoa Reggae Allstars – singing against child abuse Between us all – Te Ku-iti unites for young people Never give up – soccer’s Ben Sigmund and Limited Service Volunteers

Home for life – the foster family with a dream home It’s Not OK – tackling family violence in the heartland

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Onjeurlina Leiataua – our youngest Black Fern From lost to leaders – former refugees make their mark

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Homes for those i

RISE: Issue 28 – November 2014 33

can you give a young person

a home?

All young people need a safe, loving home.

If you can offer love, care and a sense of belonging ng g to a child or teenager, please call us now: 0508 FAMILY (0508 326 459)