An artist’s impression of the planned gym space inside the LYF Rangatahi Hub in Hastings once the project is complete. Inset: Lift Youth Foundation co-directors Tyson Ataera (left) and Davis Ataera.
An artist’s impression of the planned gym space inside the LYF Rangatahi Hub in Hastings once the project is complete. Inset: Lift Youth Foundation co-directors Tyson Ataera (left) and Davis Ataera.
A new youth hub in Hastings is turning a converted warehouse into a space for young people.
About $67,000 has already been invested on the first stage, with total costs expected to reach between $80,000 and $100,000 once the gym and tech areas are completed.
Expected to open inlate March, the LYF Rangatahi Hub, on King St North, is being developed by Lift Youth Foundation (LYF), which works with 15 to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training.
Brothers and co-directors Davis and Tyson Ataera say the hub will give youth a dedicated “positive, productive hangout space” linked to the programmes they already run in Hawke’s Bay, which currently rely on public gyms and other community venues.
“Imagine a space where every young person who walks in the door feels seen, welcomed, and believed in, no matter what they’re carrying,” Tyson said.
“That’s the dream.”
The hub will include a gym, a technology area, creative and digital spaces, youth development programmes, wellbeing and cultural support, open space for classes and activities, and mentoring and coaching zones.
Davis said community backing has helped get the project to this stage, but further financial support and sponsorship are still needed to complete the fit-out.
“We can build walls and paint rooms, but it takes a community to build a tūrangawaewae. If people want to restore hope and shape futures, this is the moment to step in.”
Donations, materials, labour, funding, partnerships and mentorship are all still being sought as the Hub enters its next phase.
“Now it’s about finishing the space and making sure it can keep serving rangatahi for years to come.”
Davis said the programme is currently supporting more than 360 young people.
Referrals come through the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), local high schools, youth groups and community networks.
He said some of the youth they work with have experienced homelessness, are disengaged from school, or are navigating trauma or addiction.
“That’s going to help the next generation.
“Their potential is massive. Their dreams are real. They just need a place that believes in them.”
One of those young people is 18-year-old Havelock North resident Nastacia Gaylard, who has been working with Lift since mid-2025 and is about to join the New Zealand Army.
When she first connected with the foundation through MSD, she was unemployed and on a benefit, but wanted to pursue a long-held dream of joining the Defence Force, following in her father’s footsteps.
She completed Lift’s Bounce programme and started her journey towards military service.
“They taught me heaps of new skills, took me to the gym and helped with my wellbeing and future,” Gaylard said.
“I opened up to them about my struggles getting into the New Zealand Army, and they guided me on the right path, and helped me to find options and ways through it.”
She said having a support system made a massive difference.
Davis Ataera with 18-year-old Nastacia Gaylard at the building that will house the new hub.
Gaylard recalled the morning she received the email confirming she had finally been accepted to the Army.
“I just cried. I called them straight away and they cried too,” she said.
“There’s no better feeling than finally achieving your dream and getting the chance to serve your country.”
She hopes to return to the rangatahi hub to share her story and help other young people once she has started with the Defence Force.
“I’d love to come back and have the opportunity to share my story and my process of getting into the Army with the other rangatahi that are there,” she said.
