Latest figures show 5316 more people in the Bay of Plenty are on benefits than two years ago and the number of long-term unemployed has almost doubled. Carmen Hall reports on a grassroots employment programme in Fordlands, New Zealand's most deprived community, that's changing lives and tackling intergenerational welfare
Number of long-term on benefits at record levels, employers need to give people chance, MSD says
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Te Ra Hokianga is from Fordlands in Rotorua. Photo / Mead Norton
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"I was going through some s*** in my life," Hokianga says, "I was at breaking point and I needed someone to talk to."
He had also heard on the grapevine about the centre helping people into jobs. During his visit, he met a trailblazing employment co-ordinator on a mission to get members of the community into work. He soon had an interview for a job as a dairy assistant on an award-winning farm in Mangakino.
The 25-year-old father of two had held a variety of jobs in the past but wanted a job with career progression.
Seven months later Hokianga is in his happy place looking after a herd of about 1100 cows he refers to as "my girls".
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The job is physical but he enjoys it despite working 10 days straight due to staff shortages.
"I love it. I am outside and doing something different every day."
"It feels great, I am out of the hood but Fordlands will always be my home."
It doesn't take rocket science to work out gangs and people that thrive on poverty and dealing with difficult people survive really well in communities where we don't actually care enough to help get them a job.
Te Ra Hokianga's story is not unique to Fordlands, New Zealand's most deprived community, but his success is at the heart of an employment programme hoping to change lives.
Ministry of Social Development (MSD) Bay of Plenty regional commissioner Mike Bryant says for this to happen more employers need to give people who have been affected by "drugs, gangs and all sorts of other things" a second chance.
He says the number of long-term unemployed is at record levels and the gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening: MSD is now dealing with the challenges of intergenerational welfare dependency - in some cases, three generations of the same family are collecting a benefit.
The social impact of this on communities was huge.
"It doesn't take rocket science to work out gangs and people that thrive on poverty and dealing with difficult people survive really well in communities where we don't actually care enough to help get them a job," Bryant said.
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People on the benefit wanted to work but some had given up after constant rejection.
"Many have had 100 rejections so when do you give up, at 101?"
The latest figures Bryant had access to show there were 5316 more working-age people on benefits in the Bay of Plenty (33,702) than two years ago.
Many have had 100 rejections so when do you give up, at 101?" Ministry of Social Development Bay of Plenty regional commissioner Mike Bryant
The number of people who were on benefits for two to five years had nearly doubled from 5772 in January 2020 to 9170 in June. Now long-term beneficiaries of more than five years outnumber those who have been on a benefit for less than a year. The ministry required an Official Information Request to reveal how many people nationally were long-term beneficiaries.
When Fordlands Community Centre employment co-ordinator Kristian Pomana started his role, which is funded by MSD, about a year ago he wondered how he could make a difference.
He stared out the window and decided to hit the streets.
"I had a notebook and papers and I just started walking and knocking on doors. I introduced myself and asked if anyone was interested in getting help to find a job. In one street I got five people and I managed to secure work for them," Pomana said.
Those jobs were in traffic management and hospitality and about 20 people have so far got jobs under Pomana's watch.
His work doesn't stop once people have secured a job. He drives some of them to work, makes their lunch and gets kits with work boots. He follows up with pastoral care, conversations and encouraging text messages.
Pomana said it was rewarding to see someone get a job, especially if it was a father, because it boosted their self-esteem and allowed them to set an example for their children.
"It's good for a man as they are head of the family and they get to support them financially and it gives their children something to look up to. It's hard because some people have been on the couch and out of work for years."
I just started walking and knocking on doors. I introduced myself and asked if anyone was interested in getting help to find a job." Fordlands Community Centre employment coordinator Kristian Pomana
Pomana left school at age 14 and had no dreams or aspirations. He got caught up in drugs and gangs.
His first job was throwing rubbish bags onto the truck in Fordlands before his boss gave him a pep talk.
He told him he was wasting his talents on the back of a waste truck and should make the most of his skills.
Those words of inspiration led to a long-term stint in civil works before Pomana decided he wanted "to give back to my people".
Fordlands Community Centre programmes manager Maraea Pomana said education and employment broke the poverty cycle.
She acknowledged Fordlands had gangs but said it was a close-knit community where neighbours looked after each other.
The next task on Bryant and Pomana's agenda is gearing up for a big challenge next year.
The pair had committed to sending a busload of Fordlands unemployed to seasonal jobs in the kiwifruit industry.
Bryant hoped it could lead to fulltime employment and would show potential employers that beneficiaries wanted to work.
