About Us
A kaupapa Māori mental health and addictions organisation, walking alongside whānau across Kirikiriroa and Whangārei since 1994.
Te Awhi Whānau Charitable Trust was set up so whānau in our rohe would have a kaupapa Māori option for mental health and addictions support. More than thirty years on, that is still why we are here. We walk alongside people with mana, in their own language and tikanga, for as long as they need.
We are a kaupapa Māori organisation made up of kaimahi across Kirikiriroa and Whangārei. We are clinicians, peer workers, kaiārahi, kaiwhakahaere, kaumātua, board members, and support staff, each of us bringing our own skills and whakapapa to the same kaupapa. Today we are a team of around 89 kaimahi, with two offices and six service pathways that walk alongside whānau wherever they are on their journey.
89 kaimahi • 2 offices • 6 pathways • 8 houses
Two rohe, one kaupapa
Our head office is in Kirikiriroa, and our northern base is in Whangārei. Across the rohe we hold residential, respite, community, and outreach services, supported by a property base of five owned houses. The kaupapa is the same in each place. The way it is delivered reflects the people and the community of the rohe.
Our history
Te Awhi was founded in Kirikiriroa in 1994 to provide a kaupapa Māori option for whānau needing mental health support. The founding intention was simple: walk alongside people with mana, in their own language and tikanga, for as long as they needed.
In 1996 the mahi grew north into Whangārei, because the need was there. Today our Whangārei team carries the same kaupapa, in the same way, alongside whānau in Te Tai Tokerau.
Over the three decades since, we have added services as the need has grown. We added residential support so whānau had a safe place to live. We added respite so people had somewhere to land when they needed a break. We added community and outreach so the mahi could meet people in their own homes and neighbourhoods. We added an acute community alternative, and we added programmes such as Tipu Ora and Kāinga Rua to support community participation and the steady step back into everyday life.
What has held us steady through it all is not a strategy document. It is the kaupapa, the kaimahi who have chosen this mahi, the whānau who have trusted us with their stories, and the rohe that have made room for us.
What we do
Te Awhi provides community, residential, respite, and acute alternative support for whānau experiencing mental distress and addictions. Our practice model is Awhi Tāea, embracing possibilities. Our framework for wellbeing is Te Whare Tapa Whā. Our practice is guided by the Awhi Tāea principles: tino rangatiratanga, mana motuhake, manaakitanga, te reo me ōna tikanga, and kaitiakitanga.
Whakatōngia te kākano, ko wai au,
Mirimiringia ki te aroha tipua te ngākau Māori,
i roto i te Wairua Tapu.
Plant the seed, who am I, nourish it with love, nurtured with our ancestral gifts, encompassed in the Holy Spirit.
