The Labour Leader Andrew Little and Labour Pacific MPs visited Pasifika Futures head office in Auckland to hold free and frank discussions, canvassing Whānau Ora outcomes and issues Pacific families are facing.
Carmel Sepuloni, Labour Spokesperson for Social Development, says having their leader visit Pasifika Futures is important for him, to have an understanding of how Commissioning Agencies work. “It’s an insight for Andrew but also an update for us as we have key portfolios that overlap and are relevant to Whānau Ora work.”
Debbie Sorensen, Pasifika Futures CEO, delivered a presentation on the results of second year commissioning and the drive to recruit Pacific Island families to register in the Whānau Ora programme, using the existing Pacific providers and key partners.
“Whānau Ora is a programme designed to help families develop healthy, sustainable lifestyles with long term plans to improve cultural connections, education, health and work skills.”
“The Whānau Ora model is quite different in terms of working with families and identifying what they might need and what should be put in place to support them,” says Mrs Sorensen.
The results of high-level Whānau Ora outcomes have indicated great progress with the support and strong commitment by 32 partners and key organisations to deliver on Whānau Ora goals to support vulnerable families.
Mrs Sorensen says over 4,600 families were engaged which is estimated to be approximately 18,700 individuals. 2,778 families were connected to core navigator support, 1,350 families engaged in innovation programmes and just over 540 families in small grants initiatives.
Findings indicate that 2505 of 3879 families have completed financial plans or budgets, 886 of 3879 families have begun to reduce debt by five percent or more, 8821 of 12752 families have set up bank accounts and are banking smarter, 3414 of 7060 families know about Early Childhood Education options and many have plans to enrol or have already enrolled their children into ECE, 3073 of 6526 families have a health plan, 704 of 5618 families are now smoke free and 1244 of 3073 families are participating in culture or language classes.
“Whānau Ora puts families at the centre of decision-making about the services and opportunities they need and how they access them. It is an approach that places families at the centre of service delivery, requiring the integration of health, education and social services and is improving outcomes and results for New Zealand Pacific families,” says Mrs Sorensen.
This is part of an annual visit by the Labour Party which presented a great opportunity to ask questions and gain more insight into the Whānau Ora programme and how funds are distributed to support various initiatives and programmes to service Pacific families.