Te Hiringa Tipua February 2010
By Parentline, 20 June 2011
Parentline Wh?nau Ora.
In the many years that I have been involved in the delivery of social services, I am constantly on the look out for interventions and strategies that are proven to work for M?ori whanau. Like most other community agencies in Hamilton, Maori are the most significant service users at Parentline; from1 July to 31 December 2009, 45.5% of clients of our clients self identified as M?ori.
What I have learnt is strategies that work best are those developed by M?ori for M?ori, premised on the notion of M?ori solutions to M?ori problems; that best outcomes are strategies that encourage a collective responsibility and participation by the extended whanau and that through reconnecting whanau to Te A? M?ori (the traditional M?ori ways) there is an opportunity to build individual self worth and self confidence. I have observed that when all of these components are aligned, then there is potential for the whanau to be strengthened.
Which is why I was saddened to learn of the shelving of the youth justice facility Te Hurihanga; an initiative modelled on M?ori concepts of care and support that encouraged whanau participation in the recovery of young offenders. But then heartened to read of Ministers Turia and Bennett’s Whanau Ora policy that adds another dimension – of encouraging Crown agencies to act collectively as a whanau, to help families in difficulty.
Based on Te Ao M?ori, Parentline offers a programme, Te Hiringa Tipua (new growth), expressly developed for M?ori whanau and delivered by M?ori practitioners. This programme is for those tamariki and mokopuna who have been abused or who now present with challenging behaviours that mirror the violent behaviours they see in their family homes.
Te Hiringa Tipua extends over a period of nine weeks and commences with a noho Marae (overnight stay) followed by eight weekly sessions. Based on Durie’s (2004) theory that cultural identity is a prerequisite to good health, Te Hiringa Tipua uses Te Ao M?ori concepts of tikanga – beliefs and practices, the Marae – as the community focal point, w?hi tapu – as cultural sites of importance and encourages access by whanau to Te Reo, wh?nau, Hap? and iwi. As an indication of the content of the programme, the first sessions focus on the discovery of self, Ko wai au? (Who am I?).
If you are interested in funding out more about Te Hiringa Tipua, please contact our Intake Coordinator, Lisa Herewini on 07 839 4536 or visit Parentline at 48 Palmerston Street, Hamilton. Further information on this programme is available from our website www.parentline.org.nz.
