July 2015: Maia had been concentrating on her health and lost significant weight by getting active. She also had recently graduated from Sir George Seymour National College.
These positive changes have brought great benefit to Maia, and gave her the confidence she needed to find full-time employment.
Over this time two issues arose which became a significant concern for Maia who explains, “my car wasn’t roadworthy and I didn’t want to drive it to work and risk any potential fines. I also didn’t want to be driving my children to school or to their sports for the same reason, and it was stressing me out.”
With the coming winter, Maia was also worried about her cold and damp home, it was too expensive to use electric heaters but she knew the only way to keep her children warm was to heat the house.
Maia accessed Whānau Direct which supports families to access resource in a timely way, when it most matters most, with the intention of making a positive difference for whānau.
Being able to heat her home has meant that Maia’s children are staying warm and dry this winter and not getting sick. It has also meant that during her trial employment Maia could work without taking off sick leave to care for her children, thereby presenting herself to her employer in the best possible light.
The support I got was so valuable, it’s hard raising a family and sometimes it’s hard to make ends meet, so having this tautoko has meant I can continue to work and ensure my children are warm, healthy and going to school. It’s been wonderful!”
Why Te Arawa Whānau Ora Works
Te Arawa Whānau Ora has been successful because it ensures whānau are able to determine their own goals and are given positive support to achieve them. Te Arawa Whānau Ora will work with groups, whānau and individuals to support them to become successful.
Te Arawa Whānau Ora works because it puts whānau in the driver’s seat, they define their own goals and make their own decisions. Te Arawa Whānau Ora has helped over 1500 individual whānau members over the last year. If you would like to know more please contact us.
