Jigsaw Whanganui’s Tim Metcalfe steps down to fight terminal illness

Tim Metcalfe is retiring after 20 years leading Jigsaw Whanganui, a social support service. Photo / Eva de Jong

After leading Jigsaw Whanganui - a social support service - for 20 years, Tim Metcalfe is stepping down from his role. It comes at a time when he is also facing a fight against a terminal illness, meaning he requires unfunded drugs to prolong his life. For Metcalfe, his approach to both situations is one of profound acceptance.

Tim Metcalfe admits he’s not the best person at maintaining a boundary between his work and home life: “Often I would wake up in the night at 2am, worrying.”

He started serving as a social worker in Whanganui more than 33 years ago due to a strong desire to change the structures underpinning social injustice.

“Social work isn’t about ‘do-gooding’ and feeling sorry for people, it’s actually about how we work to engage systems and structures so that our society works for people - rather than trying to force people to fit within systems.”

When he began working at Jigsaw Whanganui, it was a small, intimate organisation with just five staff members.

Now, the agency has expanded to 32 staff with 28 front-line workers, strong community partnerships and contracts with 10 Government entities.

Family violence and intimate partner violence, income inequality and housing are continuing issues for Jigsaw Whanganui.

“You could say all the work we do is about behaviour change - whether it’s how we parent our children, or abuse and violence - but the work we’re doing is within systems that run counterproductive to that.

“An example would be the work that we do around intimate partner violence is in the context of a broader justice system that involves police, probation and courts.

“All of them have to be doing their part within the system, or else violence just continues.”

In his ongoing battle with melanoma, Metcalfe feels he’s “facing it very positively”.

He is fundraising online for unfunded drugs binimetinib and encorafenib to treat his metastatic melanoma.

When Metcalfe was diagnosed with melanoma seven or eight years ago, he underwent surgery and was placed on a drug trial in Wellington Hospital via a Whanganui doctor.

After two or three months, scans showed the cancer was spreading to his internal organs and, as Metcalfe had been taking a placebo drug during the trial, he was able to move to taking the real drug for two years, which had a significant impact.

“Every day since then I’ve counted as a blessing.

“People often say to me, ‘Do you feel angry or cheated?’ And I’ve thought about that and, in a sense, I don’t really because of that extra time.

“I’ve got the opportunity that not many people who die suddenly do, because I have a terminal illness, to plan for the end and to plan my funeral alongside my family.”

Metcalfe was the first paid co-ordinator of the now-disestablished Whanganui Men Against Violence.

“There’s increased reporting and awareness of intimate partner violence and its impacts, but the lethality of what’s reported is no different to 30 years ago.

“A lot of the societal beliefs that the men carry are much the same as they were 30 years ago.”

During his time at Jigsaw Whanganui, the organisation had built relationships with iwi and hapū and engaged actively with eight iwi entities across the region.

“If our services don’t work for Māori, they won’t work for anyone.”

Upholding the rangitiritanga (self-determination) of iwi and hapū across the region was “really important” to Metcalfe, as well as centring Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles in Jigsaw’s work.

More than 300 people attended Metcalfe’s retirement ceremony from Jigsaw, which was “very humbling”.

The organisation is facing a budget deficit due to a decrease in Government funding this financial year.

Metcalfe said this was happening at a time when demand for social support services was growing due to complex pressures such as the impact of social media and the scarcity of specialist services in Whanganui.

“There’s massive inequality and that’s well-evidenced ... but it’s increasing all the time.”

He said he was grateful for the support he had received from Gael Clark and Gayna Ryan during his time at Jigsaw.

“I feel it’s time to let go, and there’s a part of me that is very happy to let go.”

Donations can be made to Tim Metcalfe’s Givealittle page at https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/koha-and-love-for-tim-on-his-end-of-life-journey.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.