Puna Pūtea - Social Action Grants 2023 Recipients

‘Talanoa Tuesdays’ is an open-door program with a focus on honest korero, mental wellbeing and breaking down the stigma associated with mental distress. It will be open to anyone wanting to attend, without expectation of regular commitment. Each session stands on its own and will both welcome and engage new participants, while also keeping it interesting for existing ones. 

The Talanoa program will be available weekly and will be held in Papatoetoe, South Auckland. Our focus is on rangatahi Māori and Pacific, however we are open to all ages and ethnicities.

Our project will seek to address judgement and discrimination towards disabled people who experience mental distress by empowering mana haua (Māori disabled peoples) to understand how our tupuna (ancestors) overcame barriers in their lives. We will use korero purakau, pakiwaitara (stories and narratives) to build resilience and collective authority to guide us to lead lives with mana. 

Using wānanga, we will partner with local disability advocacy services, mana ture networks, and tohunga (experts) to share stories about the Te Ao Māori view of mental well-being. Mana haua will participate in wānanga to understand self-advocacy when engaging with systems, uplifting the collective and the mana of the individual.

At the end of the wānanga series, a community event will be held to celebrate the mana haua and their whānau completing the series.

We aim to challenge the stigma surrounding mental distress among young Pacific and Māori women by establishing an engaging online platform.

Through podcasts, educational videos, and engaging content, we will provide the tools to navigate everyday challenges young women face. We will cover different topics including mental wellbeing, health, self-esteem, body positivity, life skills and relationships. Through these topics, we hope to empower individuals to share their stories of overcoming challenges and discrimination. 

By increasing representation, providing education, and fostering peer support, we aim to dismantle stereotypes and create a culture of inclusion.

Pride of Mental Health: Ending Mental Health Stigma & Discrimination is a programme that will create toolkit to share methods and strategies that create safer spaces for those who experience mental health challenges. These strategies will be relevant for a range of settings of importance to tangata whaiora. 

We will design this toolkit through six community-based strategy wānanga, alongside some online engagement. Our resource will be launched at a wellbeing event, alongside a panel, participant whakawhanaungatanga and key speakers.

Our project aims to provide holistic support to state care survivors through wānanga (educational workshops), focusing on their mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. The workshops are designed to empower participants, in a trauma-informed way.  

We hope to end discrimination through: 

·       Education and awareness: By educating our wider community about the impacts of state care on mental distress, we aim to improve understanding and empathy, fostering a more inclusive environment. 

·       Empowerment: We will support state care survivors with knowledge and skills to advocate for themselves and others helps to challenge discriminatory practices and policies. 

·       Support networks: Whakawhanaungatanga during our workshop will encourage solidarity and collective action against discrimination. 

·       Collaboration: Working in partnership with mental health organisations, advocacy groups and policymakers to promote systemic changes that end discrimination and support the rights of those experiencing mental distress. 

We aim to create a positive impact on the lives of state care survivors, reducing discrimination and promoting a more equitable society. 

We will be holding talanoa sessions using creative spaces to have conversations not usually had within our Pacific communities. We will be using a creative outlet to express and navigate these difficult conversations. Through creativity, we can open a safe space to talk about the stigma that comes with mental health and how we can proactively change the beliefs and attitudes within ourselves and with those around us.

We will be targeting all generations in our Pacific communities. We understand that stigma attached to mental distress does not favour one people, and hope the creative space led by Pacific people will help attract those that need this talanoa.