Whangaia Nga Pa Harakeke is an initiative bringing together police, iwi, and social agencies to provide support for those affected by family violence.
After three years of hard work, it was officially launched at its new Dunedin South Police Station base yesterday.
With police responding to between 10 and 12 family harm incidents in the city per day, the need was definitely there, initiative kaiwhakahaere Senior Sergeant Janelle Timmins said.
"We’re trying to get to a point where whanau aren’t working in with the system, the system is working in with whanau."
Whangaia Nga Pa Harakeke is a programme gradually being introduced throughout the country, albeit in slightly different ways to match the needs of each community.
Part of getting it up and running in Dunedin was identifying what needs were present, and what services were not.
For example, there was no advocacy group for men in the area, Snr Sgt Timmins said.
Family violence also often happened alongside other issues, such as drug and alcohol dependence, which meant a co-ordinated approach was needed, she said.
The launch has also been welcomed by Te Runanga o Otakou manager Michelle Taiaroa-McDonald, who called the service "absolutely vital".
"Family harm is at a point of crisis, it has been for some time and it continues to be on that trajectory," she said.
It needed to be looked at in a different way, and that meant examining the cause of family violence, rather than the symptoms, she said.
Mrs Taiaroa-McDonald said she had been involved in the criminal justice sector since 1986, and Whangaia Nga Pa Harakeke was the first programme that she thought could work.
"It’s a community issue, it needs a community response."
