Support for men in Hāwera
Peter Hokopaura, Ron McGrath and Wayne Ogden all work for different organisations, but they have a shared mission: to support men in the Hāwera community.
All three men had separately noticed a need for somewhere that men dealing with challenges, including relationships, housing and work could go to find support from other men.
‘‘I work with families, and I was seeing young dads and partners struggling with life issues and just needing some support,’’ Hokopaura, a kaihapai whanau ora support worker with Ngāti Ruanui, said.
He spent 25 years working in the freezing works, then became a police officer before moving into social work.
‘‘I look at people and see the potential in them, I really like to build people up, say ‘you can do this, man’,’’ Hokopaura said.
With Ngāti Ruanui’s support, he decided to set up weekly meetings where men could get information in a relaxed and non-judgemental environment.
Kia Maia, which means ‘‘be courageous’’, launched in February 2021. Since then, he has been joined by Ron McGrath, who works as a drug and alcohol clinician at Tui Ora, and Wayne Ogden, who is assistant pastor at the Presbyterian Church.
‘‘We like the fact we all work for different organisations, but we all want the same thing: to help our community,’’ Ogden said.
The group uses the Maori holistic model of health, te whare tapa whā, which encourages men to take care of the four dimensions of their wellbeing – physical, mental, family and spiritual.
Each week there is a topic for discussion, and they cover issues including grief, relationships, communication, and overcoming drug and alcohol addictions, while sharing a cuppa and some food.
Men can self refer, and others are referred by other agencies including the police or Corrections, Oranga Tamariki, GPs and mental health services.
Last year, 15 men attended the sessions, and they are keen to encourage others who need support to go along.
‘‘It’s not that we have all the answers, but we do have experience and if we can’t help, we’ll find someone who can,’’ McGrath said.
Kia Maia meetings are held on Wednesday mornings from 10am to midday at the Hāwera Presbyterian Centre, Argyle St, or phone 0508 428 672 or 2781531.