E Tipu E Rea - Hōngongoi Pānui

Hōngongoi 2021

Rongo Pānui

The rise of Matariki in our winter skies here in our Aotearoa signifies the start of the Māori new year.  The start of the Māori new year is a time for us to spend time with whānau, eat together, kōrero together, celebrate together, while also remembering those who passed during the year, and to plan for the up-and-coming year – emotionally, culturally, physically and environmentally. The study of the stars, planets, moon and the sun were once heavily intertwined into all aspects of Māori life. Stories about the relationship between the stars, planets, moon, sun, whenua and moana were told time and time again to remind generations of their kaitiakitanga role to maintain the health and wellbeing of the environment and iwi.

Today, we are seeing Māori reclaiming these traditions and sharing knowledge with all of Aotearoa. E Tipu E Rea encourages everyone to embrace a tradition that is uniquely ours by spending more quality time with whānau, resting, sharing kai and kōrero, acknowleding whānau we have lost, thinking about our relationship with the environment, and planning a great new year for ourselves and our tamariki. We hope you enjoy our newsletter and look forward to providing more information on local and national issues impacting on mātua taiohi and the work we are undertaking to address some of these issues.

Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou Māori!

Zoe Hawke
Ngāti Hako, Ngāti Paoa
Kaiwhakahaere Matua

Mahi o te Tīma

E Tipu E Rea whānau celebrating our new office

In April, we moved in to our new whare! The previous seven months had been a rollercoaster of working from our homes, cars, libraries and cafes, and so we were overjoyed to secure this beautiful new space!

A huge thank you to the Henderson/Massey Local Board for supporting us in this move, and to Mātua Rangi McLean for blessing the space for us. Also thanks to Jim Stretton from J.S Carvings for the beautiful carving of our tohu (pictured above). Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou!

We love having visitors! Please feel welcome to come see us at the Te Atatu South Community Centre, to the left of the main hall, 247 Edmonton Road.

At E Tipu E Rea, we strongly believe that mātua taiohi should not have to face the stigma and discrimination that they currently do just because they are young parents. A big part of our mahi is trying to counter-act that stigma by engaging in mana-enhancing practices that support the wairua of mātua taiohi and dismantle the barriers that inhibit their potential.

For Mother's Day, we made several hundred cookies and hand-delivered them to our māmā taiohi to celebrate them as parents and make sure they felt loved and appreciated.

Mātua Taiohi recent events

Last week we held our first Learner License Workshop in partnership with Outwest Youth, a youth organisation based in Helensville.

Nine mātua taiohi attended the three-day workshop, and we had seven successful passes, with the remaining two all geared up to sit next week!

Not having a license creates so many barriers for young people. Not only can they not independently get themselves to appointments, education or employment, but the lack of ID prevents them from signing a tenancy agreement, applying for jobs, courses and more.

We are so stoked with the results from our first license workshop, and are looking forward to many more! And what a joy it was to have our new whare full of mātua taiohi and their tamariki.

Every three months, we survey all our mātua taiohi to get feedback on our mahi and what we could do better. We wanted to share a few of their comments - this is why we do what we do.

Policy and Advocacy Work that Supports Mātua Taiohi

Youth Homelessness

E Tipu E Rea kaimahi are finding that there is a huge gap in the housing options available to mātua taiohi. Most are unable to secure a private rental (due to age and stigma). They frequently do not meet the criteria for transitional housing that would enable them to leave emergency housing, or move out of unsafe living environments. We have been told by some community housing providers that they do not accommodate hapū māmā, and most do not accept couples. This leaves mātua taiohi in precarious housing situations, or unable to parent their tamariki together as a couple.

In order to fill this gap, we have written a business case for a housing project that would cater to the unique needs of mātua taiohi and their tamariki, and enable young couples to live together and parent their children. We are in the process of distributing this business case to decision-makers and other key leaders in the housing space.

We also spoke recently with Te Karere about the need for alternative housing options for mātua taiohi - you can read the article here and watch the story here.

E Tipu E Rea CEO / Kaiwhakahaere Matua Zoe Hawke speaks to Te Karere about the plight of mātua taiohi in emergency accommodation. Watch the interview here.

Media Roundup

Tamariki Ora to be redesigned to be more equitable for Māori and Pasifika whānau, those living with disabilities, and tamariki in state care

Read here

Despite the government working towards what it calls transformational change with its health reforms a new study shows that Māori and Pasifika children are still bearing the brunt of the health systems failures.

Read here

There were 4368 children living in emergency housing motels at the end of March, an increase of 480 since December 2020. This is despite the Government promising to tackle the housing crisis and prioritize child poverty.

Read here

Waitangi Tribunal claimants who have been through the state care system say they have been shut out of Oranga Tamariki reform talks, despite being academic experts in the area of uplifting indigenous children from their whānau.

Read here

The Waitangi Tribunal is delving deep into the past this week as it lays the foundation for its report on the Mana Wahine Claim.

Read here

Upcoming events

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