Aotea Brown speaking at a Heirs of Tane Trust whanau community hui at Anderson Park, Napier, about being a mother of a 3-year-boy assaulted at Cornwall Park, Hastings.
The mother of a 3-year-old left bloodied after an attack on his father at a Cornwall Park playground has called for change at a community hui in Napier.
Aotea Brown said she did not blame any one group for what happened to her son Ryder.
She spoke to about 70 people who had gathered in Anderson Park for the Heirs of Tane Trust Whanau Community Hui on Monday.
Other speakers at the hui have called for a rahui on gang patches in parks and playgrounds.
Brown's son had been left covered in blood and bleeding from his mouth and nose after a Mongrel Mob member allegedly attacked his father at Cornwall Park in Hastings on Wednesday afternoon.
Brown hadn't intended to speak but changed her mind after seeing her son's face.
"Seeing my little boy and knowing that he cannot talk for himself, I have to be the one to talk for him."
Andre Waikato, Mongrel Mob Notorious chapter member of over 30 years, speaking for the opening of the community hui. Photo / Warren Buckland
Brown said incidents such as Wednesday's were becoming all too common.
"Don't ever feel weak or like a snitch for speaking up. Sometimes that is the bravest thing you can do."
She told Hawke's Bay Today, ''I am my son's voice.
''Most people are scared to speak up.
''We can't make change if you're not willing to speak up about this type of stuff.
''It's not one gang that's the problem, it's many. It's happening everywhere.''
Attendees of the hui included representatives from both the Mongrel Mob and Black Power, alongside some police officers, Man Up, Legacy Hawke's Bay, Hastings councillor Henare O'Keefe and whānau with children.
The atmosphere of the hui reflected the kaupapa of the kōrero, with children playing between audience members listening to speeches as sausage sizzle with cake was handed out.
Speakers included Mongrel Mob Notorious chapter member of over 30 years Andre Waikato, former manager of Hawke's Bay Regional prison Peter Grant, Pastor Michael Ngahuka and Ngāti Kahungunu chairman Bayden Barber.
Peter Grant, former manager of Hawke's Bay Regional Prison, said gangs can become a part of the solution to community violence. Photo / Warren Buckland
Waikato said in his opening address that the meeting was not about persecuting, condemning or defending any part of the community.
"When I hear about violence, whether domestic or faction-related, occurring in public places, I cringe with the weight of responsibility felt in my heart, because I have often behaved in similar ways in the past," he said.
"I truly believe that to make a difference and improve safety for our children and families in our communities - it can only come if we change our whakaaro, our ways of thinking and our perceptions of what is right and wrong.
"There is a great deal of genuine pro-social work being done within factions and communities as we speak."
He said he hoped there could be a rāhui on gang factions wearing patches and colours in parks and playgrounds, as he saw it as a more effective method of changing mindsets than laws against patches.
Hui organiser Cherie Kurarangi said the next step was to create a working group formed of diverse voices to seek solutions to community violence together.
