Within that definition prevail layers of communities — residents of Eastern Southland, organisations and agencies delivering support to the area, service and community groups, which as you can imagine is a vast audience.
Each month we host an interagency hui — the Community Liaison Meeting — inviting a guest speaker to share what their kaupapa and their mahi is to keep us all up to date on what is available, so we can ensure we are connecting our people to the right service. This in turn gives us some insight into what might be missing. For our August hui our team shared our organisation’s purpose and how our differing streams of work drive the kaupapa: to ensure that the Eastern Southland community have access to essential social and community services to support a healthy, resilient and connected community.
We presented Strengthening Families, Elevate, Heartland Services, Connected Eastern Southland, Neighbourhood Support, Youth Work, Total Mobility and the associated programmes and groups several of these initiatives run.
We had a fantastic turnout! Following a shared kai, attendees were invited to take the floor and present their mahi.
Throughout the korero attendees asked questions engaging each speaker either on how their service might support or benefit someone’s circumstance, or how representatives could collaborate to bridge some gaps in need. Innovative approaches were brainstormed, connections were formed and enthusiasm for supporting our communities unbridled!
The community and social sector landscape is ever-changing and it’s crucial to us as an organisation to know what is available locally so we can support our community’s ever-changing needs. Our upcoming September hui will host SuperGrans Back to Basics presenting their new community-focused initiatives connecting people in Eastern Southland.
