We have listened to the voices of many Te Hiku whānau throughout our journey so far. We have asked them to share some of the health and wellbeing issues faced here in Te Hiku ō Te Ika and their ideas on how we can creatively solve them for future generations.
We need to have a go-to group in our whānau to deal with issues of drugs and alcohol.
Tane, Kaumatua, 67
People need a safe place to go and just talk. People are whakamā and shy to talk. Lots of people feel dumb. People end up getting sick through…
Wahine
Depression. We have a lot of that out here.
Wahine, Kuia, 76
Mental health services in remote locations don’t help much. Whānau don’t get much support. They just give them meds and drug them up to be zombies. It’s heartbreaking.
Wahine
We need to teach kids the old ways. We used to go netting, work on the marae. We didn’t have time to get depressed. We need to spend…
Wahine
We need programmes designed by people who have been there, like ex-meth users.
Tane
More rehab services.
Tane
More places for youth. More activities. Get all the dealers and beat them out of here.
Tane
We definitely need more doctors up here.
Tane