Spotlight on Whetū Marewa

Whetū Marewa, our youth primary mental health service funded by Te Whatu Ora, is continuing to grow across the country with teams now operating in Taranaki, Hamilton, Tauranga, Hauraki, Rotorua, Taupō, and Whanganui.

Whetū Marewa brings together our clinical workforce and youth workers, to make accessing support fast, easy, and even fun! We’re always keen to be out making connections directly with taiohi, as well as taking referrals from whānau and other services.

We focus on understanding what taiohi need right now, and engaging in ways that work. Often that means we’re not sitting in an office but out doing something active, like walking, or bike riding.

Some of the awesome team at Whetū Marewa Whanganui tell us what they love about their work with taiohi:

Emma, Whetū Marewa youth worker

What does a typical day look like?
A typical day for me looks like being out in the community, at schools, enjoying the fresh air and making the most of the outdoor spaces in our community.

What is your favourite part of your role?
Favourite part of my role is that everything is tailored individually to suit the taiohi we’re working alongside. I get to meet new people, see new things and learn along the way. I get to have fun and grow in my job at the same time.

What kind of activities do you do with taiohi to support them with their goals?
We spend time outdoors, walking, at the beach, doing arts/crafts, and supporting relationship building with peers through group activities.

Anna, Whetū Marewa team coach/psychologist

What does a typical day look like?
A typical day looks like being out and about in the community, meeting with taiohi and/or their whānau, either at school, home or utilising community spaces. There is usually some time spent in the office to meet with the team, develop plans for taiohi, or connect with other agencies.

What is your favourite part of your role?
There are so many parts to this role that I love. Some of my favourites are creating connections with whānau and taiohi and working flexibly with them to develop goals and plans that best suit them. I am so passionate about working with a strengths-based, flexible and outreach approach with our community.

What kind of activities do you do with taiohi to support them with their goals?
We’re lucky to use community spaces and connections to provide a range of activities with taiohi. This could include:

• arts/crafts; physical wellbeing (walking, gym plans, group activity classes);
• creating music;
• going to the beach;
• mindful photography; and
• group workshops with different focuses (social communication, vision board, distraction box development, dance/movement).

It’s so valuable to be able to use a range of activities, developed from the interests and goals of each taiohi.

Nikora, Whetū Marewa youth worker

What does a typical day look like?
A typical day for me is reaching out to see where we could work with other agencies in the community. I also support our taiohi and team wherever I can. This might be with visits, developing workshops/activities, or group programmes.

What is your favourite part of your role?
I love being out in the community meeting new people, and making the most of what our community has to offer.

What kind of activities do you do with taiohi to support them with their goals?
I have a passion for sports, music and cultural activities so I try using my knowledge of these in what I do. It could be walking around the lake, beach walks, playing music in the park or playing basketball.