Abuse in state care witness Leonie McInroe describes her 'nine grueling and fraught years' fighting for compensation. Video / Supplied
The ‘for us, by us’ mentality of a third-generation whānau cycled through state care has sparked a first-ever permanent hub for rangatahi.
Te Hiwa a Māhaki opened its Maraenui space on Thursday after years of hard work by locally raised social worker Shyann Raihania, who returned to Hawke’s Bay with her sister to help her and others break cycles for the next generation.
The hub is not only a drop-in space for those who need support but a base of operations for Raihania and her team, offering support services such as Tukua (business mentorship), Awhero (sports), and two phases of a youth housing programme focused on housing stability.
It hasn’t been easy for the sisters, two children in a family of 11 who spent much of their childhoods dealing with a system they found often did not provide adequate support to meet the needs of rangatahi and propel them forward.
“I was whangaied (raised by someone other than a birth parent), but we are from Hawke’s Bay and whakapapa here. All my siblings were taken into state care and raised and urbanised in Auckland, so there has been that disconnection of whakapapa and severing of whakapapa,” Raihania said.
“What we learned from dealing with ministry and service providers was that they can’t be all things to all people, so what can we do within ourselves to build capability within our whanau to transition to independence?”
This was the basis for Te Hiwa a Māhaki, which started its infancy in 2018 when Raihania was working in Auckland as a social worker.
Monz Raihania (left) and sister Shyann have had firsthand experience and its pitfalls and hope a new Napier hub for rangatahi will help fill the gaps. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
Te Hiwa encapsulates the star of aspiration in the Matariki cluster. Māhaki embodies values and aspirations as well as humility and hard work.
Programmes lean on Raihania’s vast network of support and existing relationships, and the team has plenty of local partners and networks at its disposal.
“We’re talking about where we are at now, what we need to learn, and what we can do to coordinate and commit to moving from where we are now to where we want to be.”
‘By them, for them’
Raihania said the pull to return to Maraenui to drive her vision forward was strong after Cyclone Gabrielle. A walk to the Maraenui shops helped spur things along even further in her search for Te Hiwa a Māhaki’s new home.
“I was having a coffee at The Pie Man next door and noticed [the space] had been vacant for a while, so I inquired.”
It was thanks to generous donors she and her sisters were able to move into the space, despite currently having no other external funding.
“We’re not funded at all, but we got some initial seed funding from a local philanthropic trust that we are very grateful for.”
Having a dedicated space was important because there was no dedicated hub of this kind for rangatahi.
“We need to localise support systems for rangatahi, [making them] by them and for them,” Raihania said.
“We don’t have criteria, and we’re not trying to recreate anything that exists. It’s about collaboration and showing we can come into those gaps.”
A 'by them, for them' approach is instilled within the hub. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
‘Full circle moment’
Monz Raihania is one of her sisters’ biggest supporters and inspirations. She’s been part of the Te Hiwa a Māhaki journey since its inception in 2018 and has excelled.
“It has helped me a lot from 2018. My sister was running learner licence workshops, and now I’ve got my learner license,” she said.
The keen baker also hopes to fully form a business making cheesecakes, thanks to the support of Te Hiwa a Māhaki’s business support programme, which is run at the hub.
“She’s also helped me get into housing and other independence things.”
Monz said it had been a “long journey” from her time in state care, but she was very proud of her sister for helping not just her but also her other sisters and rangatahi.
“Every day, I learn new things,” she said. “It’s been exciting to watch it come to life.”
The new hub is bright, spacious and rife with learning and development opportunities. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
The pair have currently been crafting merch to help fund the hub, with the aim of creating more sustainable income.
While there’s still some work to do with back-office logistics, Shyann hopes the business programme will help instil values of giving back and also further educate rangatahi about life skills.
“We’ll look at models around what rangatahi feel is an equitable amount they can give back to the hub.”
For now, the pair want people to realise that ending up in a state house or difficult whanau situation “isn’t the end” of their journey, and anyone who’s disillusioned or needs assistance of any kind is welcome.
“Having my sisters here to see something they’ve been a part of that was for them by them is very special. It’s really been a full circle moment.”
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
