Police, Ngā Kete to tackle mental health together
Tūmanako Oranga Wellness Centre has become a place for those that are lost in the community, between agencies, in “no man’s land”, Mike Bowman says.
As Southland area commander, Bowman has seen many Southlanders fall through the cracks because while they’re struggling with mental health and addiction, it’s not severe enough to meet the threshold for hospital services.
“This is an opportunity to help them and their whānau,” he said yesterday while signing an inter-agency working relationship agreement with Ngā Kete Mātauranga Pounamu Charitable Trust who run the centre with funding from Te Whatu Ora.
It was opened in November last year offering real-time crisis response, respite care, a detox facility, one-onone counselling, group sessions and experiential therapy, among its full suite of services.
Bowman has been asking staff to look out for signs of mental health and addictions when dealing with cases — like when they respond to family harm incidents, for example — and they were already seeing results from referrals, he said. “To be honest, I think we need more,” he said of the centre.
The agreement includes regular meetings and communication between the agencies, which means they’ll be able to share notes, lessons, and key information about the people they serve, while being mindful of boundaries and each other’s roles.
“We work on a no surprises basis,” Ngā Kete chief executive Tracey Wright-Tawha said.
The centre had been busy since it opened, she said, with an active counselling case load of 28 people.
There were between four to six people regularly involved with experiential learning each week, with 30 people receiving advocacy services, and 14 to 16 people turning up for peer support work.
The two crisis respite rooms — a space for people to stabilise themselves — are filled on a weekly basis while a third room is used for withdrawal services.
“There’s a cadence to the work that’s really starting to grow,” Wright-Tawha said. It was also a matter of pride for the Māori provider, which is mandated by Ōraka Aparima Rūnaka, to be working with a crown agency, she added.
“We’re stronger when we work together.”