Te Roopu Tiakai Rangatahi
Te Roopu Tiakai Rangatahi (TRTR) is a youth-led development programme that grows youth wellbeing and resilience among young people in Porirua. Since October 2018 it has developed robust youth leadership capacity and exercised this leadership to inform a wide range of initiatives across Porirua.
For a community with a very youthful population that has many predictors of poor life outcomes, TRTR provides a valuable circuit-breaker which cuts through many of the well-meaning, single-problem-focused initiatives that are dropped into the community.
Download a report on TRTR (May 2021)
Watch a video about TRTR (short – 5.46)
Watch a video about TRTR (long – 20.47)
TRTR built on community collaboration
TRTR was established in October 2018 as a collaboration between four organisations in Porirua, collectively known as the Alliance. This level of tight collaboration was new for the Porirua community.
The four organisations that make up the Alliance are:
- Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic
- Taeaomanino Trust
- Tumai Hauora ki Porirua
- Wesley Community Action
Wesley Community Action provides backbone support to TRTR, employing two youth workers and providing administrative and other support.
Collaborative funding for a collaborative initiative
During its first two years TRTR (October 2018 to September 2020) received funding from three sources:
- Porirua City Council
- the Ministry of Youth Development
- the Department of Internal Affairs.
During its third year (starting October 2020) the major funder is Porirua City Council, with a smaller amount of funding from MYD. Wesley Community Action has been able to source needed funding from philanthropic sources to fill the gaps.
Youth leadership sits at the heart of TRTR
Youth leadership and youth governance sits at the heart of TRTR. Rather than young people being seen as “problems to be fixed”, TRTR is based on the belief that young people are a rich resource for leadership, creativity, innovation and hope in our community. This capacity is supported by a network of adults in the form of youth workers and staff of the Alliance partners.
The role of The Pae
TRTR is led by a youth leadership group initially called the Rangatahi Paepae. It members soon renamed it The Pae and they call the journey they are on Voyage.
The Pae is responsible for designing and delivering programmes and events for young people in the Porirua area. During TRTR’s first two years, the team helped organise 13 events and activities. These ranged from a Youth Voice open mike concert held at Pataka in June 2019 to the Youth2Business forum held in August 2020, which provided young people with a chance to hear from and meet local entrepreneurs and start-up business people.
The Pae initially had 12 members and is now a core group of nine.
Members of The Pae are also increasingly involved in city decision-making, acting as a consultation group for other projects and organisations within the region. These projects and organisations include:
- providing input into a new youth justice project at the Porirua District Court known as the Young Adult List
- running a campaign called Tag2Vote to encourage youth voting during the 2019 local body elections
- collaborating with Pacific Health Plus on a one-day youth on family violence
- working with Capital and Coast District Health Board to design a Youth One Stop Shop as a place to provide a range of primary health care supports.
TRTR based on solid research
TRTR is informed by research on brain development, resilience building, positive youth development and community-led development.
There is a growing body of evidence that what happens in the teenage years is very important for long term well-being.
Adolescence is a time of significant and protracted brain development. This means that the teenage years are a time of great opportunity (to build resilience, strengthen positive pathways, and reduce the impact of harm that may have already occurred).
These changes also mean that young people can be more vulnerable because they are more sensitive and susceptible to harm.
The experiences, opportunities, relationships and the connections to culture and faith that young people have during this critical time can make a big difference. TRTR works from this understanding to skillfully and consciously support rangatahi. In doing this TRTR not only makes their lives happier and healthier right now, but it also invests in the future by helping them to gain the skills and attitudes they need grow into confident and capable parents and citizens.
Download a report on TRTR (May 2021)
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Social Worker in Schools (SWIS)
Our social worker provides a service across three primary schools based in Otaki. The SWIS (Social Worker in Schools) role promotes children’s well-being and safety, it is child focused, family\whanau centred and community orientated. The role is focused on early intervention and prevention.