New Whānau Ora localised approach to be tested

Whānau in North Island communities are set to test the benefit of a new localised commissioning approach, Minister for Whānau Ora Peeni Henare announced today. Four organisations will receive a total of $500,000 each to trial a localised approach that will seek to move investment decision-making a step closer to whānau in their region.  This funding is a part of the record investment of $116 million for Whānau Ora through Budget 2019. 

 “Funding more accessible home-grown Whānau Ora solutions will help whānau achieve their wellbeing aspirations,” Peeni Henare said.

 “If Whānau Ora services are more accessible to whānau in our communities by entities who live and work in these communities it will increase innovative solutions and opportunities to improve whānau wellbeing outcomes.

 The localised commissioning approach is in response to the 2018 Ministerial Whānau Ora Review that recommends extending the reach of Whānau Ora across Te Ika ā Māui. It will bring the long-term goal of whānau achieving tino rangatiratanga closer to reality by implementing a new approach that complements the existing Whānau Ora support available.

 The four entities selected across the North Island are:

·Te Tihi o Ruahine Whānau Ora Alliance exploring a rangatahi enterprise

·Te Whare Maire o Tapuwae Charitable Trust working collectively with the Wairoa Community Partnership

·Huria Trust exploring a marae-based model: a unique approach in that it is supporting whānau connected to five marae in the one region, bringing an even stronger Māori kaupapa to Whānau Ora by having marae as central to the outreach

·Raukawa Settlement Trust focusing on strengthening the suite of services in a post-treaty settlement entity

 Palmerston North based Te Tihi o Ruahine Whānau Ora Alliance head Materoa Mar says that this is an exciting opportunity to leverage on whānau innovation in our hapori.

 “We can strengthen our connection with the Commissioning Agencies and scale the opportunities that already exist in our communities and position even more strongly a whānau-led approach to Whānau Ora,” Materoa Mar said.

 “We can foster whānau aspirations and move to an innovative space to take it further. We are excited at the opportunities.

 Rangi Manuel, General Manager of Te Whare Maire o Tapuwae says he will work collectively in partnership to analyse issues impacting whānau wellbeing in Wairoa.

 “We are privileged to advance whānau aspirations and provide Wairoa resources that meet our identified needs. Government are enabling an excellent opportunity to develop a model that is flexible and responsive to specific needs of our community,” Rangi Manuel said. 

 “As we embark on Matariki, it is a traditional time for Māori to reflect and reconsider the year gone and ahead. The localised commissioning approach will help us to reimagine Whānau Ora and enable regional solutions to empower even more whānau to achieve their wellbeing goals,” Peeni Henare said. 

 Notes for the Editor

Each organisation will receive a total of $500,000 for the trial ending 31 December 2020 to work with whānau in their region.

 An evaluation will run alongside the trial to assess the benefits and identify areas of improvement that will provide good insights to the evolution of Whānau Ora.

 The four entities commissioned to deliver this approach are:
 

1.     Te Tihi o Ruahine Whānau Ora Alliance (Palmerston North);

Te Tihi o Ruahine Whānau Ora Alliance Charitable Trust is based in Palmerston North and coordinate several Whānau Ora programmes across the region. They intend to test a rangatahi (youth) based model to commission whānau-centred activities that have been co-designed and led by rangatahi to create wealth, economic secure pathways, self-determination and encourage connection and participation in te ao Māori. For further details regarding Te Tihi o Ruahine visit their website https://tetihi.org.nz/

2.     Huria Trust (Tauranga);

Huria Trust is a well-established marae-based entity with expertise in delivering and providing health and social services to their marae, whānau, hapū and iwi. They are well connected with whānau, community, networks and providers which they will test a marae-based model to commission Whānau Ora activities and programmes to analyse how this is received amongst its community and possible learnings that are gained by being based at a marae. For further details regarding Huria Trust visit their website https://www.huriatrust.co.nz/home

3.     Raukawa Settlement Trust (Tokoroa);

As a post-treaty settlement iwi governance entity, the Raukawa Settlement Trust are looking at what gaps there are in existing services in their region. The first initiative they plan to commission has as strong emphasis on mentoring and coaching. The second initiative will run concurrently to this and caters for whānau who are focused on their physiological needs and both seek to achieve better wellbeing outcomes for whānau in their region. For further details regarding Raukawa Settlement Trust visit their website https://raukawa.org.nz/

4.     Te Whare Maire o Tapuwae Charitable Trust (Wairoa);

Te Whare Maire of Tapuwae Charitable Trust will collectively work with the Wairoa Community Partnership to commission new research that analyses the realities of whānau wellbeing within the region that are currently not addressed in their statistics to inform and commission Whānau Ora activities and programmes that will uplift the wellbeing of the whole Wairoa community. For more information email reremoana.houkamau@twmot.co.nz

For more detail on how localised commissioning can contribute to the impact of Whānau Ora and on whānau lives, see the Te Puni Kōkiri website page on Whānau Ora https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/whakamahia/whanau-ora.  

The full Whānau Ora review can also be found on the Te Puni Kōkiri website https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/whakamahia/whānau-ora-review .