Kia ora e te whānau,
Tēna tātou! E mihi ana ki a koutou i runga i nga āhuatanga whakahirahira o te wiki nei, arā, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori!
Māori language week is upon us, check out the resources at www.reomaori.co.nz if you want to practice your reo Rangatira – karawhiua/go for it!
We wanted to tell you about our recent publication describing our methodology of co-production and kaupapa Māori. Nā te tīmata (from the start) we sort guidance from rangatira Māori and a range of experts from mental health, addictions and judicial spaces to inform our rangahau (research). The paper demonstrates the use of Te Ao Māori concepts crafted for this project, Te Ara Tohu: He Ture Kia Tika, as a guideline for cultural engagement and safety. These included whakatika (accountability), kotahitanga (unity), whanaugatanga (relationship building) and manaakitanga (reciprocal care) and flexibility to work with whānau wherever they are (ki tai wīwī, ki tai wāwā).
The paper also speaks to how lived experience of those who have been incarcerated as experts of their experiences of what worked for them. We drew on tikanga haumaru (safety procedures that included disclosure considerations) to protect them and their whānau. “Ki tai wīwī, ki tai wāwā” like the waves that move up and downs or in and out our processes were flexible to engage with whānau wherever they were in their journey. Throughout, we aimed to honour the voices of whānau who shared their pūrākau (story).
The article concludes by explaining the next stage of our research outcomes. We hope these will have the potential to direct law and policy changes and argue for the prioritisation of stories from those with lived experience as evidence for change. This could have a significant ripple effect in the lives of those suffering from addiction and mental distress, in particular, those who have engaged with the justice system and their whānau.
The article is published in an open-access journal, Evidence & Policy, which means you can view if freely here. You can read our summary blog for the journal here.
We feel proud to have this article out there for people to engage with and learn from.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari kē he toa takitini
My success should not be bestowed onto me alone, it was not individual
success but the success of a collective
He mihi tēnei ki ngā rangatira o tēnei rangahau, he whānau, whānau whānui, hapori, me ngā hoa i roto i te kaupapa nei.
He Ture Kia Tika 