A Pākehā mother is praising the selfless aroha of two Māori Wardens who helped calm her son, who is autistic and has Down syndrome, during a public meltdown on an Auckland city street.
Heather Ricketts said “the experience of kindness, patience and their ability to connect and see what we needed”, despite the wardens not knowing them, was an emotional experience.
In a letter to the NZ Herald editor she wrote: “In a society where compassion is not a value we encourage, it was so nice to have people who took the time to be with us in what is often a very isolating experience.”
Heather said the interaction was an eye-opener.
“Like many perhaps, we did not know what they did, and it was illuminating to find the vast roles they play in our society,” Heather told the Herald.
She, her husband and the couple’s 19-year-old son ventured into Auckland city on Sunday to go to the Sky Tower because, like most New Zealanders, they were tired of being stuck in the house due to the bad weather.
The couple are familiar with the challenges that come with these outings because even being in a public space can spark an outburst from their son. Sunday’s day out was also not helped by the larger-than-normal crowds at the Sky Tower.
“Once inside the lift in Sky Tower, it was very difficult to get our son out again, as he became increasingly agitated and disoriented with queues of people and simply couldn’t cope with the process of getting out,” Heather said.
The family finally ended up on Queen St, with their son on the pavement screaming and shouting. This attracted plenty of onlookers and the couple knew it could be a long afternoon waiting for their son to calm himself in order to get him back to their vehicle
However, this time their wait was different.
Heather Ricketts and her son. Photo / Supplied
They were joined by two Māori Wardens dressed in bright hats and fluorescent vests who “talked with us, understood our difficulties, didn’t judge us and treated our son like a human being with difficulties that were beyond his control to manage”.
The wardens, seeing Heather’s predicament did not hesitate to offer their whānau support.
Heather said Sharon Tua and her partner Jayson Tiarua were guardian angels.
They sat with Heather and her son for nearly two hours. During that time, she learned a lot about what Māori wardens actually do.
During their korero, the wardens learned Heather’s son liked pizza and arranged for a colleague to drop by with a takeout.
“They made contact with their wider team to arrange the delivery of a pizza to our son. This is what he needed to be able to transition to the car and go home,” Heather said.
Heather said she felt so inspired by the mahi of the Māori wardens that she wanted to share her story and wrote a letter to the Herald.
The Herald tracked the wardens down. They said they were happy to help, as they are used to dealing with traumatic and emotional situations.
“It’s beautiful being a Māori Warden,” said Sharon. “It’s about having a relationship with the people, helping the community, trying to make life a little bit simpler and easier for each and every one of them.”
Jayson Tiarua and Sharon Tua say they want to be Māori Wardens forever. Photo / Supplied
Sharon and Jayson have been Māori Wardens for more than 10 years. During the week, they work at the Rawiri Community House and on the weekends, work in the city among the homeless and help to maintain public safety.
“There’s a lot of struggles out there, there’s a lot going on and sometimes it doesn’t matter where we are, whether we’re in uniform or not, they know who we are and they know that we can help them or assist them if they need our help,” Sharon said.
“We can understand what it’s like with Down syndrome because we have one too and she’s 5. She’s a chromosome 21 child, exactly like Heather’s son. We can understand the relationship between her child and the public.”
Heather said she was grateful for their support.
Despite Māori Wardens not being paid a base salary and being volunteers, Sharon and Jayson are dedicated to the whānau and said they want to be Māori Wardens forever.
“The feelings you get at the end of your working day when you sit back and reflect on what you’ve just done, you feel good about yourself because you’ve made a change or you’ve made a difference,” Sharon said.
Heather ended her letter with: “I would like our society to know how important it is to have people like Māori Wardens in our community and to recognise their selfless caring of others.”
Māori Wardens have been supporting communities for more than 150 years at a grassroots level and patrol the streets and public transport to support whānau.
During the holidays, the wardens have helped with the homeless, as many social services shut down during the Christmas holidays. They even manned the mobile shower service, and helped arrange emergency housing to ensure whānau were fed and have access to social services.
