Flaxmere is a community of extremes, where the human spirit shines brightest - but in some corners darkness reigns.
Town planners messed up big time in Flaxmere. In parts of the suburb, idyllically fringed by vineyards, wealthy individuals bought up hundreds of "rentals" in the early 70s.
Hawke's Bay's seasonal work force congregated, creating a churn of people that challenges community spirit. Schools experienced student turnover of over 30 per cent a year.
Into the social void the Mongrel Mob's influence flourished, as it has in other parts of Hawke's Bay where the criminal gang was founded.
I have met several people who say gang members "aren't all bad", but you can't be half a gangster.
The Bafta-winning documentary Ross Kemp on Gangs revealed the Mongrel Mob's true colours.
The gang spoke on the condition it would not be shown in New Zealand but thanks to the internet the missing episode (for New Zealand viewers) reveals the morality shift the Mongrel Mob imposes on its followers.
If you have the might then you have the right.
In April the Mongrel Mob had 900 members in jail, but it is their followers I worry about - kids who yearn for the social success that a patch brings and will do anything to get it.
Sadly Maori predominate in the Mongrel Mob.
Whether it's a legacy of colonialism, land theft or slavery, New Zealand has many lost souls who identify as Maori and struggle to lead full lives.
Perhaps their problem is they are not Maori enough.
Henare O'Keefe has a simple plan for the most-at-need diaspora. Give them a secure place in a community and give them help. The community place would be conditional on engaging with the help on offer.
Flaxmere's Te Aranga Marae has been lobbying for a $36 million staged ownership of 316 Housing New Zealand units for its Homes for Families project.
Community Housing was the main feature of the Government's Budget and last week Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Bill English said he was looking forward to hearing the full proposal from Te Aranga.
"They may do a better job of working with these people, to change their lives," Mr English told me.
"Because we don't really work with them, we just put the tenants in the houses and fix the windows.
"We are happy to test ideas, be innovative and take a few risks to get better results."
I was impressed with the willingness to "challenge assumptions" and I hope the Te Aranga initiative succeeds.
I am very grateful to live in a country where help is at hand because the ethic of helping one another is institutionalised in our society's health, police, fire and education systems.
For the many who fall between the cracks Mr English said "we need to find another way".
It is thanks to people such as Henare O'Keefe that the "other way" is possible.
Turning a blind eye to our problems and making our jails bigger is no solution.
Remember the saying: All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.
Patrick O'Sullivan is Hawke's Bay Today's business editor and a former teacher at Flaxmere College.
Mark Story's Morning Story column is taking a break.
