Te Kāhu Tiu ready to help vulnerable youth once funding secured

Amelia Trotter at the entrance to Te Kahu Tiu. Photo / David Haxton

The African proverb says, “A child does not grow up in a single home.” This has become the source of one of the most powerful sayings in the West in the last decade, “It takes a village to raise a child”. What this means for our most at-risk youth is that often the home is not the best or safest place for them to experience the conditions that will nurture them into adulthood.

Those young people who find themselves having early encounters with our justice system are those most in need of a community of care, a “village” to help and support them. When this is available, these young people can turn their lives around and become the pillars of their families and communities.

The good news is that such a centre of support has been built in our village.

In rural Kāpiti, Te Kāhu Tiu, located in the Reikorangi valley just outside Waikanae, is a restorative youth justice oasis, that is poised to carry out this important life-changing work.

“Restorative justice helps people reconnect with their sense of purpose and belonging, to their family and community,” explains centre co-founder and programme director Amelia Trotter.

“It has been shown to be a game changer.”

The kōhanga at Te Kāhu Tiu was completed at the end of last year, after two years of construction. It is hoped the programme that helps our most vulnerable young men, will soon be underway.

Te Kāhu Tiu restorative youth justice centre. Photo / David Haxton

“We’ve formed a longstanding relationship with Oranga Tamariki (OT).

“It has been our objective to get a contract with OT and to start the programme, but we are also looking to the community for other possible avenues for funding.”

She knows it will take a village.

It has long been Trotter’s dream to create a land-based rehabilitation programme. During her master’s degree, she was placed in the New Zealand police, researching the most effective methods to prevent our young people from re-offending. She went on to run the Youth Services at the Wellington City Mission, where she worked with at-risk rangatahi, creating and running an alternative school, youth centre and drug and alcohol education programme.

We’ll do this together.

Amelia Trotter

Since then, she has dedicated her life to helping our young people. Early on in her career, she recognised that in order to most effectively turn our young peoples’ lives around, it is imperative to address the underlying reasons for their offending. She observed that those she worked with had suffered trauma, and often it went back generations. For the last two decades, she has trained to become an expert in trauma and multiple other psychotherapeutic modalities.

With her husband, she bought 14ha of land in Ngatiawa Rd, where they have built the centre that has commercial kitchen facilities, a music studio, a 200 square metre meeting space, surrounded by a garden and orchards - to deliver a cycle-breaking programme and reconnective curriculum.

The centre is aimed at giving rangatahi, who have come to official attention for their offending, a chance to change for the better, via a variety of daily activities, both inside and outside on the land.

Amelia Trotter is the programme director at Te Kāhu Tiu. Photo / David Haxton

Trotter said it would be expensive to run the centre, as it requires a high staff-to-young-person ratio.

“We need sustainable funding. Just securing funding for six or 12 months, particularly in this environment, isn’t enough. We want to know that we can run the programme for at least a few years while we look to secure more ongoing funding avenues and we see the real, transformative effects on our young people’s lives and families.”

Despite the funding challenges, many positive outcomes have already been achieved. A village has gathered around them.

“We have a generous grant from the J R McKenzie Trust which has financed our course director, Jai Te Ahunga’s, salary. He’s been able to move up from Christchurch and write the curriculum for the programme. He has written a beautiful curriculum that will connect the rangatahi with their sense of mana and purpose. He is now also forging networks with important stakeholders.”

Lotteries have also helped out, giving a grant that has enabled business manager Craig Ballantyne, who had been working voluntarily, to be paid.

Former Principal Youth Court Judge John Walker, and Warren Young, former Deputy Chief Executive of the Ministry of Justice and former Law Commissioner, have also come on board in advisory roles.

Michael Moore of Te Horo carved the name Te Kāhu Tiu into a slab of tōtara. Photo / David Haxton

Principal Youth Court judge Ida Malosi and representatives from Police Youth Aid have visited recently, are impressed, and are also giving their support.

Trotter said the community has “really shown up for us, as well” with a multitude of offerings of support, including attendance at regular working bees held on the property. Wood carver Michael Moore, from Te Horo, has created signage, featuring the name Te Kāhu Tiu, at the property entrance, from a slab of tōtara, free of charge.

Discussions are underway with Kāpiti Coast District Council to change the centre’s resource consent to enable more flexibility in the centre’s operation. When this is achieved, the centre is hoping to host a community movie night featuring the film Savage which follows a character’s three defining life moments as he grows from a boy into a violent gang enforcer. Director Sam Kelly will be in attendance for a Q&A.

Funding to get the centre’s programme underway remains the hurdle, though.

But Trotter feels it is “just a matter of timing now”.

“I believe we will get there. And we welcome anyone who can contribute in any way to join us — whether it’s volunteering at a working bee, or by donating skills or funding in any small or large amount. We’ll do this together.”

She knows it takes a village.

For more information visit: tekahutiu.org.nz