Since 2015, we have worked with over 30 communities to develop initiatives and build hope.

H2R Research and Consulting has held over 20 local hui and five national hui with hard to reach community leaders. An average of 60 people attend each hui, including three generations of whanau – grandparents, parents, and children/mokopuna.

Our approach

Our work is premised on the notion that hard to reach communities will change because they want to change. This is a community mobilisation approach, initially used in the delivery of public health initiatives, and designed to help communities build services and initiatives for themselves.

How our work began

Our work started after a drive-by shooting in Taita, Wellington, 2014.

The shooting involved the Mongrel Mob and the Nomads. After a mediation process the two groups resolved their differences peacefully. The Mob leader wanted to explore ways to prevent his mokopuna from being caught up in a cycle of:

  • truancy
  • unemployment
  • alcohol and drug abuse
  • criminal offending

We supported the leader by working with his daughter and hard to reach community leaders to form a team around him. We then engaged the E Tū Whānau team to support and resource a series of workshops for the local community to identify their aspirations for the future. The group prioritised the need to improve the young people’s education and employment achievements.

The Ministry of Education was then linked in to support the group to create their own ‘developing a culture of education in the home’ plan. Over the last few years the local community have been quietly implementing this plan and many of the young people involved are now in employment or training.

Want to hear more? Contact us today.