Twenty years of meaningful partnership in Taranaki

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On 31 October, Workwise and Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora celebrated working together in Taranaki over the past 20 years; a special moment to acknowledge our collaboration. Since November 2005, the Workwise Taranaki team has been supporting people with their employment journeys in partnership with Te Whatu Ora community mental health and addiction teams.

Workwise’s approach is founded on the belief in employment as a vital foundation for wellbeing, identity and hope.

“At the heart of this celebration are the people who’ve used our services. Their courage, commitment and success are what we honour today. Without them, this work would have no meaning,” says Tyron Pini, Workwise Chief Executive.

Hosted at Taranaki Base Hospital’s recently-opened Te Puna Wai Kātea, the event marked two decades of meaningful partnership, with guests attending from Te Whatu Ora, the Wise Group, Workwise and local NGOs. A highlight was hearing from a person who had been supported by Workwise and specialist mental health and addiction services, and their employer who had provided the right job match.

“With the help of Workwise, I landed my first interview. What Workwise did for me was they took away the fear of the unknown, they made it really easy. I really appreciate Workwise and AOD – now I have the tools and the structure, and I know what to do. Now, I’m working for a big company! Without all these organisations and the determination that I had, I wouldn’t be here.” – Tina*

It was also a special moment for Workwise General Manager Spencer Kendall to pay tribute to Ross Ekdahl, Manager of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Taranaki for his efforts and leadership over many years – steering the way for Workwise’s services to be seamlessly incorporated into treatment and care for people.

Ross talked about the results speaking for themselves. “I would like to mihi to the Workwise team for your work alongside the clinicians – promoting a real recovery focus for our whaiora that holds hope, that they can build a future for themselves, that they have the resilience and all of the potential to go out and undertake meaningful activities and occupation.”

“As much as clinical support is important, employment is just as important. We talk about being a holistic service and it’s these aspects that Workwise provides that make it holistic,” added Ross.

Highlights of the partnership:

• More than 3,500 people supported on their employment journey
• More than 2,000 jobs or training opportunities secured
• Five employment consultants integrated with three community mental health and addiction teams across Taranaki.

*Name changed to protect privacy.

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Photo: Ross Ekdahl (centre left) receiving a gift acknowledging 20 years of meaningful partnership, with Tyron Pini (left), Sandra Broughton and Spencer Kendall from Workwise.