Empowering tamariki

Currently we have a significant number of tamariki who aren’t getting the things they need to thrive. That means they’re likely to face barriers to success in the future - things like poor health, lower educational attainment, and higher rates of unemployment.

When tamariki have poor outcomes, there's a significant cost on the individual and for our wider community.

We already have significant work underway which is making a difference and we’re looking for others who can help Empower Tamariki for a brighter future.

Council's role

Our role is to:

• Provide local leadership - local government has a natural advantage in knowing and understanding the unique strengths, needs and resources of its own communities.
• Advocate for system changes that will improve outcomes for those who need it most - especially tamariki.
• Provide a framework to identify the areas where resources should be focused and to measure our collective impact, and mechanisms to enable this work
• Identify and work with partners who share our kaupapa (national and local government, non-government agencies, schools, communities and whānau) to ensure core council community services are accessible and available to all children, but especially those who need them most.
• Promote this vision and share stories of change and success to inform and inspire others to support and contribute to this work.

Our vision and approach

Empowering Tamariki focusses on narrowing the gaps for children in Lower Hutt’s North East suburbs in the areas of health and wellbeing, education and housing. This includes:

• Working with central government and others who have a shared objective
• Targeted delivery of core council services to these communities (libraries, literacy and physical activity programmes, art education, community-based art projects and some social services support)
• Working in partnership with community groups, schools and whānau
• Enlisting partners and sponsors who can bring resources and energy.

Our kaupapa (goal) is to give our most vulnerable tamariki access to the stuff that matters. We have an opportunity to empower our tamariki for a brighter future and this is how we’ll do it.

Education

Childhood poverty can seriously affect a child’s educational achievement. This can be partially off-set by providing targeted after-school educational experiences such as:

• Mentoring programmes
• Computer Clubhouses
• Homework centres
• Holiday programmes and kapa haka
• and other cultural opportunities.

These provide a range of opportunities for young people to develop and express their talents and build confidence and life skills.

Children growing up in poverty have a high risk of dropping out of school, not achieving qualifications, and have high unemployment rates throughout their lives.

Health and wellbeing

Services must be delivered in the way that best connects with communities - clustered in the places where communities, families and whānau, live, work, and play. Community space via our council facilities (eg. Community Hubs and Libraries) have great significance for our tamariki, providing spaces for creativity, play and learning while also being free, safe and warm. They enable positive social connection.

Living in poor quality housing is seriously damaging the health of many tamariki in low-income families. Over 70% of all tamariki in poverty live in rental accommodation, and many of these homes are cold, damp and poorly maintained. Homes need to be warm and dry to support good health.

Housing

Housing is an area where we have the opportunity to make progress in our wider goal of making Lower Hutt a great place to live, work and play, for everyone.

Some of our high-deprivation communities include significant areas of social housing, and central government has plans to deliver 300 new homes in the coming years, as well as refurbishing some existing.

We are working with Housing NZ and others to ensure we make the most of this once in a generation opportunity by ensuring that critical factors such as building design, tenant management and access to community services and amenities contribute to the best possible outcomes for all tenants, especially tamariki.

Living in poor quality housing is seriously damaging the health of many tamariki in low-income families. Over 70% of all tamariki in poverty live in rental accommodation, and many of these homes are cold, damp and poorly maintained. Homes need to be warm and dry to support good health.

Partners and sponsors

Partners and sponsors who can add resources and energy are crucial to this cause.

There are many people who share our vision for all tamariki in Lower Hutt to be given the chance to thrive. Many are already on board, bringing resources, ideas, connections and most importantly a shared passion for making a difference in their own neighbourhood.

Find out more

If you'd like to partner with us, contact our Community Services team:

T: 027 707 9988
E: melanie.laban@huttcity.govt.nz