“I’ve learnt that not everything has to be done alone” was a key theme from last month’s official launch of the Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities (ROCC) initiative Hapori Manawaroa ki Murihiku, in Invercargill.
The launch brought together mana whenua, NGO providers, partner agencies, community representatives, rangatahi, New Zealand Police and several community members with lived experience, to mark an important milestone in community collaboration to minimise the harm caused by organised crime.
Southern District ROCC Coordinator, Acting Inspector Cynthia Fairley says bringing all the parties together in Southland under a shared goal is the result of hard work across all groups.
“Our mantra is ‘community led, regionally supported, nationally enabled’. ROCC is about working with communities to identify the local harms and social drivers of organised crime and enables our communities to respond in partnership with government agencies.
“It’s given us all a great opportunity to workshop ideas and outline the shared aspirations we have for the initiative, what success might look like, and what we can achieve when we all work together.”
Among those who came together for the launch was the Otago/Southland Regional Public Service Commissioner Steph Voight, who spoke about the importance of collaboration and having the wider community leading this programme of work.
“I was delighted to be asked to chair the leadership group that is overseeing this mahi. I am incredibly proud that we have secured this opportunity for our community.
“To bring true effect to the spirit of service as a public service leader we have to listen, understand our communities needs and aspirations then seek to ensure we enable that through our collective efforts.
“Hapori Manawaroa ki Murihiku brings all of this together and shows a way for us to work together for inter-generational holistic solutions to longstanding issues in our community.”
The launch event brought together mana whenua, NGO providers, partner agencies, community representatives, rangatahi, New Zealand Police and those with lived experience together.
A launch highlight was hearing firsthand from rangitahi who have accessed services created by this initiative. Cynthia says listening to their lived experiences and the courage to share that with everyone at the launch was inspiring.
“They were courageous to share with us their lived experience," she says. "They talked about their goals and aspirations, learning that not everything has to be done alone, and how they’ve been able to access community-led programmes to help them achieve those goals.”
Students from Frontline Training Consultancy, an alternative education provider in Murihiku, provided the catering for the day – and plenty of smiles!
Rangitahi also took the catering reigns at the launch with kai and barista services provided by students involved with Frontline Training Consultancy - an alternative education provider in Murihiku. Students got the chance to experience a real catering situation and earn credits towards a range of NCEA subjects.
The name of the initiative ‘Hapori Manawaroa ki Murihiku’ was gifted to the ROCC programme of work by Murihiku kaumatua and reflects fortitude, strength and resilience within the Murihiku community.
Overall, the launch was a day of togetherness and shared aspirations, which signals a very positive road ahead in reducing the harm that organised crime can bring to communities.
