Tutor Heidelind Luschberger (front) with students Maureen Allen, Bruce Burgess, Joanna Quinn, Keri Nielson, Masiala A Qara, Brett Lambert and Paul Taylor from the Te Whare Oranga o Parakai. Photo / Dean Purcell
Tutor Heidelind Luschberger (front) with students Maureen Allen, Bruce Burgess, Joanna Quinn, Keri Nielson, Masiala A Qara, Brett Lambert and Paul Taylor from the Te Whare Oranga o Parakai. Photo / Dean Purcell
Aucklanders tell us about the great things they’re creating in their communities.
Topping the tables for youth suicide rates is not something any community would want to claim. The South Kaipara district of some six or seven thousand people had one of the worst records, particularly for young Maori, in the Waitemata District Health Board catchment.
This is not news to Te Kahu-iti Morehu from Ngati Whatua Nga Rima O Kaipara who grew up here when horses, tractors and mules were the main way that people trekked around, linking the five marae which ring the area. But the village of Parakai has a new source of pride.
Ms Morehu is one of the drivers of a community hub that opened in the old tavern in Parakai this autumn, Te Whare Oranga o Parakai.
The building is still shiny new, the gardens only just being started, the kitchens still awaiting their final equipment deliveries, but Te Whare is one of those places plenty of bureaucrats and punters would like to see in every town. The lucky confluence of circumstances that got Te Whare goes back some 25 years. Helensville was about to lose its maternity hospital and was having trouble keeping general practitioners, so locals formed a district health trust with the then equivalent of the Waitemata District Health Board.
Over time the trust took on a wider remit - education, social welfare, social justice - amassing sizeable funds and a lot of respect. In the meantime, up the road in Parakai, the pub run by the local licensing trust was causing trouble.
"It was popular with the gangs, then the local boys would say 'no way'," says Ms Morehu. "It was unhealthy for the people, there was domestic violence, not just with Maori. The women said 'I'm sick of this', the money is spent on alcohol. When [the tavern] closed, it was something that needed input from all of us, but we all agreed that the liquor business could not come back."
The terms of a licensing trust means that when the pub closed, its assets had to be gifted back to the community. The health trust had a track record; with Ms Morehu and fellow trustee Olive Rudolph, it was embedded with the local Ngati Whatua.
A steering group and many public consultations resulted in action. A private endowment, the sale of one of the pub houses and grants from the likes of SkyCity, Lotteries and ASB funded the rebuild.
Using local labour and suppliers was the first boost to the economy. Two years after discussions began, the refurbished tavern opened in March as a centre for food and wellbeing - a new heart for the community.
At the same time as ideas were being sorted for the building and what it could become, Englishman Jake Morgan was fomenting the South Kaipara Food Revolution, a group of producers keen to grow as a food destination and marketing group.
It seemed pretty natural for a region so famous for its food it makes up its names - Kaipara, Parakai - that kitchens and food making were central to its tikanga. But this is where it gets interesting, as the two streams knit together - manager Imelda King, employed by the health trust, has a health and social services orientation, while Mr Morgan, along with specialist Ian Leader (another layer - Ian is funded by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the local South Kaipara Economic Development Scheme) is focused on job creation and social enterprise.
Te Kahu-iti explains the name: "o" means it belongs to us, "ra" means this time, right now, "nga" can be lots of things. The flax symbols everywhere, te whiriwhiri means we join together, everything is woven together.
"The kitchen is the heart, everyone told us that they wanted a space to learn, to prepare, cook and share food," says Ms King. "My job is to keep the balance with other health needs. We have seminars on pain management, a hui next week on suicide prevention, we're working with the Ministry of Justice, family court, Youthline. We approach these things holistically, looking for innovative funding outside the usual streams."
Te Whare has teamed with educators: Unitec landscape and interior design students helped with the refurbishment, Kaitaia-based Northtec is running one of the first certificate courses in Sustainable Rural Development, Mr Morgan is talking to local chefs about cooking-for-kids classes, and more advanced qualifications with AUT's culinary arts school. There's a monthly Sunday farmers market that gives everyone in the community a place to bump into each other.
It's not all about formal stuff. Ms Morehu wants to see her local young mums push their prams over, "come here, be safe, sit outside and get some fresh veges, korero" with the old people showing them how to garden.
Everyone acknowledges there are plenty of mistakes still to make, but the aim is to learn as they go.
"It's happening. We know what it means, in its spiritual deeper sense," says Ms Morehu. "Now we're into collaboration, understanding each other, we're kaitiaki of this environment."
Where to get help: • Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7) • Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7) • Youth services: (06) 3555 906 • Youthline: 0800 376 633 • Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (4pm to 6pm weekdays) • Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm) • The Word • Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7) • Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155 • CASPER Suicide Prevention If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
