Hard mahi making a difference for Te Ata Pūao whānau

By Karipa Akuhata, Alcohol and other Drugs Clinician, Te Ata Pūao

A service for whānau experiencing mild to moderate mental health and /or addictions needs, Te Ata Pūao is making many positive differences to people’s lives.

The past few months have been productive for both kaimahi and whānau in this service, and we have opened a second Te Ata Pūao group.

One activity enjoyed by all was a wānanga to teach the tikanga and karakia for harvesting harakeke and raranga (weaving). Te Ata Pūao embraced the whānau principles of harakeke where the rito (baby) leaf needs the mātua (parent) leaves. This is why we only harvest the tupuna leaves (outer leaves) to protect the harakeke whānau.

In raranga, Te Ata Pūao engaged in the therapy of weaving wrist bands. The attention to detail and patience required for weaving reiterated the care required to ensure whānau wellbeing.

Another activity for Te Ata Pūao whānau was the Kapa Haka Kura Tuarua o Aotearoa (nationals). Whānau described this as an emotional experience, to see our culture expressed on stage by our rangatahi.

We visited an exhibition of pakohe at Nelson Provincial Museum – toi Māori (Māori arts) connecting whānau to our culture and resonating with therapy. And on a sunny Nelson winter’s day, a group went to Te Taero a Kereopa (Nelson Boulder Bank), learning pūrākau from the haukāinga.

Whānau often find ways to grow with Te Ata Pūao. Some have requested referrals for te reo Māori courses, and others for counselling and toi Māori wānanga.

Te Ata Pūao kaimahi at Matariki celebrations. From left, Alaine Huata, Sonny Alesana, Lauren Sainty, Bruce Buckley Akuhata, Rachelle Tauroa, Tuku Reihana, Tere Taukamo, Karipa Akuhata.

Inspirational whānau stories

Whānau stories about their wellness journey with Te Ata Pūao are a glimpse into this life-changing service. The stories on this page have been shared with Te Ata Pūao kaimahi and retold here by Tere Taukamo.

One tane is working part-time on a fishing boat enjoying the energy of Tangaroa. He has become more confident in his own abilities, all the while not so afraid of his inabilities and able to ask for support when feelings of inability become apparent.

With a history of homelessness for several years, this tane has been accepted into the Blenheim Housing First Programme and for the first time feels hope about being a productive and acceptable member of society. He has passed a six-month milestone of total abstinence from all mind and mood-altering substances.

This tane has become confident in his Māoritanga and has learned karakia for specific rituals (and is still learning). On occasion he has filled the paepae when doing smaller pōwhiri / mihi whakatau. His mind has become more focused on wellness and his body is aimed at hauora through the gym, pools and mahi rākau – mau rākau and mahi for pūtea and for mahi aroha, volunteering with our kuia and koroua at Noho Pakari.

Another tane has returned to his tribal area and resumed his job as a independent courier driver. He reports that Te Ata Pūao groupwork has been significant in showing him “possibilities”.

This tane reports that the time, support and teachings caused him to realise that getting back into his life was possible. He had the foresight to ask if he could postpone his discharge from Te Ata Pūao for a couple of weeks in case he needed extra support. He was ready to leave soon after and has been discharged.

One wahine has pursued te reo and mau rākau as a passion and a future. She and her children are doing well, and she feels like she has achieved her goals as a single mum and found her niche in life with something worthwhile to nurture, teach and grow her children.

This wahine and her 12-year-old son have been attending a community mau rākau group (at Pou Rua level). She and her 13-year-old son have been put forward for grading through Te Whare Tū Taua in the near future.

This is a huge achievement, and she will be among the first females to achieve Pou Tahi status in the Wairau area trained through Te Whare Tū Taua if successful in the grading.

Building resilience with Te Ata Pūao

Mental health and addictions support programme Te Ata Pūao is now available in the Wairau rohe.

Te Ata Pūao supports people experiencing mild to medium mental health and/or addiction issues, including rangatahi who may not be eligible for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Te Ata Pūao began as a pilot programme in 2021 to support whānau in rural communities at a time when the effects of COVID-19 were exacerbating anxiety and dependency on drugs and alcohol.

In 2023 the programme was redeveloped as a permanent service offering, starting in Wairau with recruitment underway soon afterwards for a Whakatū-based programme.

Kaimahi include:

• pūkenga hauora hinengaro (mental health clinicians)

• pūkenga manaaki (whānau navigators)

• tautoko ahurea (cultural support workers)

Kaimahi work with tāngata whaiora (people seeking wellness and balance), and their whānau to provide support, treatment and therapy.

Rachelle Tauroa, Kaiawhi Hangarau Whakaaturanga, was pivotal in establishing Te Ata Pūao. Rachelle says the programme has a focus on early detection, so that support can be provided sooner rather than later, and on supporting tāngata whaiora to become more resilient and able to cope with life’s challenges.

“The service expands the reach of other Te Piki Oranga mental health and addictions services, to increase equity of access, address whānau needs in a more holistic manner, reduce wait times, and improve outcomes,” Rachelle says.

“We use a kaupapa Māori model that focuses on positive aspirations to obtain hauora, recognising that hauora aligns with tikanga Māori and Māori cultural standards.”

From left, Mahia Matika and Aiden Broughton (both pukenga manaaki) and David (‘Chook’) Norgate (tautoko ahurea) are members of an expanding Te Ata Pūao team.

Realising potential: A CAMHS success story

Realising potential: A CAMHS success story

By John Hart – Wairau CAMHS/Mental Health Navigator

 Little did I know on first meeting with this young blue eyed blonde hair cheeky Māori boy what an impact and how he would grow on me.

My first memory of him is while playing basketball was that he wanted to punch me in the face I roared at him "surely in gest” he just looked back at me confused.

We played basketball twice a week sometimes for 3 hours a day, one v one B-ball so he could claw back some of the points I would fluke against him. Little did he know at the time from early on I could see he had determination but no focus or work ethic towards training.

He had fallen through the cracks of mainstream education system with very little to no chance of getting back in the school gates. In his own words lately, he was just in need of some structure and routine and for others to just understand how he processed everything.

From an Xbox influenced lifestyle of Grand Theft Auto and bad choice of mates he started out in boxing and basketball to establish direction and focus. He started in alternative education program after being out of school for a couple of years and not fitting in mainstream system. he participated with Dawn Chorus in Picton as well as mentoring at Te Piki Oranga. He trained 4 to 5 times a week at Kai Toa Gym/boxing gym as well as weights at the gorilla pit at the stadium plus regular 5 km runs. He then jumped headfirst into the cactus program winning a trophy for being positive having leadership skills as well as encouraging others among other qualities.

He had started to mature and not needing to follow like before, becoming a leader amongst his peers. He now understood it's not about making people like him to make friends .It was about liking himself and becoming the best version of himself in the knowledge that others will like him too. With new career path choice and a heavy training regime and new goals he had found his new groove. 

A new boxing coach additional positive mentors and support from whanau and new friends in his life. With new life experiences and goals and playing Basketball with a passion he walked onto the court with a red top on ,once upon a time that would never have happened as red was a forbidden word in his vocabulary. This was the moment when I thought he had reached the pinnacle and things couldn't get better. We played basketball on a Wednesday night with a loose collection of kids who like the game didn't have much to do mid-week. He walked onto the court like a Giant with the glow of an NBA player.

Learning to dive and hunt, shooting a deer, nutrition advice, shredding pounds to make weight ready for his first fight in the ring. From that date on and clocking up another 4 fights and 5 silvers later. His next goals are to finish the dingle foundation program this year and join the military next year 2023.

He has come a long way from fight club to a role model, we are all proud of him.

A safe place to talk about tough topics

If you or someone in your whānau have experienced any abuse while in the care of state or faith-based institutions, Te Piki Oranga can offer a safe place to talk about your experiences.

 We understand that sharing about traumatic experiences can be difficult. Our qualified, specially-trained community champions can listen and kōrero with you in a non-judgemental, safe way.

 In one of our pānui last year we introduced you to community champion Rameka Te Rahui. Rameka says that talking with someone you trust can be the start for people seeking help and treatment for trauma.

 “We understand that anyone telling their story is going to go through a lot of emotions in the process. Talking can bring up a lot of grief, anger, and fear. Sometimes the hardest thing is making the first move and picking up the phone,” Rameka says.

 “We’re here to help anyone through that process – deciding whether and how to take part, navigating the process and getting the follow-up care you need.

 “There is free counselling available and for many people, this has made it possible for them to get treatment for any ongoing trauma they are experiencing as a result of their experiences.”

 Contact Te Piki Oranga in confidence on 0800 ORANGA (672642) or email us at admin@tpo.org.nz and ask to speak to one of our community champions.

Meet our two nurse practitioners

Meet our two nurse practitioners

Meg Robertson and Carol Whitfield are Te Piki Oranga’s two nurse practitioners, both based out of Te Piki Oranga’s offices in Bishopdale, Whakatū. They are part of a small (300-strong) but growing group of nurse practitioners now practicing around Aotearoa.

Meg is Pou Whirinaki Hinengaro, a nurse practitioner specialising in adult mental health; Carol Whitfield is a nurse practitioner who takes care of whānau members with chronic and physical health issues.

Nurse practitioners - highly qualified

Nurse practitioners are highly skilled, and have advanced education, clinical training and demonstrated competency. To qualify, they must have five years experience as a registered nurse and a Master’s degree in clinical practice. Once qualified, they have the legal authority to practice beyond the level of a registered nurse. This means they can diagnose health complaints and prescribe medications.

Visiting you in your whare or at TPO

While Meg and Carol will see people at Te Piki Oranga’s sites, they prefer to visit whānau in their own whares wherever possible, because it helps them to develop a more holistic treatment plan.

They have travelled as far as Golden Downs and Murchison, southwest of Whakatū, and to Rai Valley in the east.

However, Carol stresses that it’s up to whānau to decide where they want to meet, as they may wish to come into Te Piki Oranga and speak privately about a health concern.

Preventing something turning nasty

"My role is often about trying to prevent and manage chronic health issues; about trying to avoid something turning into a nasty, acute health condition that may require hospitalisation or worse," she says.

A lot of both Meg and Carol’s mahi is also about bridging and navigating the health system. They often accompany whānau to appointments.

"It’s about being there as a support person and ensuring the right questions get asked," adds Meg. "Whānau might not ask the hard questions because they fear being judged."

Carol explains that nurse practitioners do not replace the role of a general practitioner. "The people we work with often have multiple health concerns and I really encourage them to have a GP who is really focused on the whole of their health. We work alongside the GPs."

Working together, holistically

While Meg and Carol work independently, they will refer whānau to each other when needed.

"We treat our whānau holistically," Carol explains. "Managing an illness doesn’t come without stress. It’s about trying to identify when that stress is over and above what you would expect, or when another mental health issue hasn’t been identified or well managed in the past, and referring people them to Meg, because her strength is in that. My strength is more in physical health. But we both work across both areas."

In the mental health area, Meg says a lot of the whānau she works with are often either vastly over-treated or under-treated; many of those she supports have undiagnosed conditions.

"I do work in conjunction with their GP but often whānau have only got 15 minute GP appointments, whereas I’ll sit down with them for an hour and a half. We’ve got the time; time is a great luxury. When I first trained as a nurse practitioner, everyone was very excited about being able to prescribe medications but it’s actually a really small part of what I do. Medication is only one part of the solution, therapy is another, then good sleep, healthy eating and walking are all important."

Carol says it's about having conversations around lifestyle and optimising medications or at least talking through the medications so they understand why they’re taking them, especially when they don’t feel any better to begin with.

"Medications for diabetes or blood pressure, for example, don’t always make you feel any better. It’s not like taking a panadol for a headache. Prescribing is often about optimising treatment or reducing how many are taken."

When she’s not working, Meg loves spending time with her two children, her dog and other whānau members. She plays ultimate frisbee, enjoys swimming and running and loves cooking.

Carol lives with her husband on a walnut orchard. She enjoys cooking, sewing and other creative projects. She’s even made a pair of shoes!

‘Shot Bro’ tackles depression

A repeat performance at Victory Boxing of Rob Mokaraka’s one-man theatrical show, ‘Shot Bro: Confessions of a Depressed Bullet’, left audience members feeling more informed about the impacts of depression.

A few months ago, Te Piki Oranga teamed up with Victory Boxing to bring the play back to its base in Whakatū Nelson, after it had premiered there several years earlier.

Inspired by Rob’s life story, ‘Shot Bro’ is the product of his nine-year journey of healing and self-discovery.

In 2009, the highly acclaimed actor and playwright experienced undiagnosed depression that resulted in him trying to commit ‘Suicide by Police’ (a suicide method in which an individual ‘deliberately’ behaves in a manner designed to provoke a ‘lethal response’ from law enforcement).

As well as performing, Rob also co-wrote and produced this extraordinary show.

Rob told the audience that he created the piece to communicate an ‘internal perspective on mental health and depression, in a safe way’ and, by doing so, he hoped to bring about social change regarding these topics.

Given the subject matter of his show, one would expect it to be a solemn and heavily dramatic piece yet, although there are elements of this, there were many heartful and hopeful moments resulting in both laughter and tears.

After the performance, Rob provided the opportunity for reflection, then invited audience members to give feedback.

The collaboration was an opportunity to further strengthen the relationship between Te Piki Oranga and Victory Boxing, given both organisations have developed a strong standing within the community when it comes to mental health and depression.

The show successfully inspired a shift in perspectives and more understanding about appropriate responses to depression and suicidal behaviour.