Ashburton’s growing Pasifika community now has access to a wider range of culturally appropriate health and wellbeing services.
Canterbury’s longest-serving Pacific health provider, Tangata Atumotu Trust, is building a permanent Ashburton team to deliver support for the growing number of Pacific people who call Ashburton home.
Canterbury continues to be the fastest-growing Pacific region in Aotearoa New Zealand, and Ashburton is one of the region’s main centres of growth.
Tailored support from organisations such as Tangata Atumotu are an essential part of nurturing growing Pacific communities while upholding cultural values.
Tangata Atumotu general manager Carmen Collie said the organisation’s O ¯ tautahi Christchurch team had previously delivered successful programmes in Ashburton, including working with the community to lift vaccination rates and providing financial literacy workshops.
“Seeing the reception that our services receive when visiting Ashburton made it clear to us that we need to establish permanent local support. We’re now poised to bring impactful programmes and services to this vibrant and growing part of the Ashburton community,” Collie said.
The new Tangata Atumotu Ashburton Health Hub was launched on Saturday, at a function at the Hampstead Rugby Club .
Located at 132 Burnett St, the hub will provide a wide range of health and wellbeing services, including mobile nursing, smoking cessation, support to create warm, dry and healthy homes, healthy lifestyles support and financial capability programmes.
“Our team will be focused on generating a better base of health and wealth for Pasifika to help address the disparity of health outcomes faced by Pacific people here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.”
“We will be working closely with Waitaha PHO, Apia Trust, Fale Pasifika o Aoraki, Vaka Tautua and other services that are already making a difference locally.’’
“We have started building a passionate team of Pacific outreach navigators to help connect the community to the different services and make a real difference in the lives of those around them.”
Pacific outreach coordinator Percy Tilialo is the first staff member based at the new hub.
“I’m excited to work for an organisation that is for Pasifika, by Pasifika. We know what our community needs, we know what works, and I’m loving being able to get stuck in and make a difference,” Tilialo said.
Tangata Atumotu Trust have been supporting and empowering the Pasifika community in Christchurch for more than 20 years, offering a wide range of health and social services to improve Pasifika health outcomes — from mobile nursing and vaccination programmes to dance and exercise classes, to food and other supports for families in need.
– The new Tangata Atumotu Ashburton Health Hub office is at 132 Burnett St.
