Whanganui group to provide refuge for men and women

Marilyn Kairimu-Davis (left) and Jane Peeti have a plan to tackle family violence. Photo / Bevan Conley

Setting up a refuge for men is one of the goals of a new trust working in the family violence field in Whanganui.

Marilyn Kairimu-Davis didn't like seeing boys aged 12 and 13 expected to leave their mothers who were in refuge.

She is from the new Te Whariki Manaaki o Tatou Trust and said men who have to leave a home because women were under protection orders sometimes have nowhere to go.

"There's a women's refuge movement out there that just basically concentrates on women and their children. That's fine, but there's no avenue for their fathers. That was a real big concern for us," Kairimu-Davis said.

The new Te Whariki Manaaki o Tatou Trust aims to provide separate refuges for men and women in family violence situations. They have places lined up, Kairimu-Davis said.

The trust, chaired by Jane Peeti, has offices in Whanganui's Ridgway St Community House.

They were blessed on December 19.

Other trust members are Aroha Rozska and Billie Mills. Uru Gardiner, Carol Rameka and Anahera Haami are the trust's pou kuia (supporting elders).

The trust is likely to seek the usual funding pathway - through government, Kairimu-Davis said. But it's a kaupapa Māori group.

"My kōrero to the people out there is that the funding will come from the sky, which is Ranginui, and our houses will come from Tane Mahuta, which is the forest, and the foundation of all of us is Papatuanuku," she said.

Police have told her a men's shelter is a brilliant idea, and the group will introduce itself to Whanganui Women's Refuge and may work with it.

Kairimu-Davis will be the unpaid manager, and said people can ring the trust's office on 06 281 3158 or 020 4003 0246.