Community Wellbeing – Raglan Naturally

Community Wellbeing | Te Oranga o te Hāpori

An Overview of Community Wellbeing in Whaingaroa

For us in Whaingaroa, wellbeing is about the health of our whole person – mind, body and spirit – in connection with our whole community and our environment, and with the Treaty of Waitangi as an overarching guide.

Community Wellbeing in the Waikato and Aotearoa

The Hauora is a Māori philosophy of health and well-being unique to New Zealand. There are four dimensions of Hauora; Taha Tinana (Physical Wellbeing – health), Taha Hinengaro (Mental & Emotional wellbeing – self-confidence), Taha Whanau (Social Wellbeing – self-esteem) and Taha Wairua (Spiritual wellbeing – personal beliefs) There is physical, emotional/mental, social and spiritual caring.

The Whare Tapa Wha model represents aspects of Hauora as the four walls of a whare, each wall representing a different dimension. All four dimensions are necessary for strength and stability. (Wikipedia)

Wellbeing is defined by Deloitte. State of the State NZ 2018 as our quality of life. Issues that affect this are: civic and human rights, culture and identity, housing, knowledge and skills, leisure and recreation, material standard of living, employment status and job satisfaction, the physical and natural environment, safety and security, health and social connectedness

What topics were covered and who has been involved so far:

We appreciate all the work of the Focus Group members

Please note: this Snapshot report is a starting point for community-wide input and is not a finished or complete report. Your input will build on this report.

Topics Covered:

Physical and Mental Health
Safety
Family Harm issues
Alcohol and Addiction
Social connectedness
Affordable Food
Affordable Housing

Environment
Culture
Arts and Creativity
Recreation
Education
Communication
Local Economy

Who is Contributing to this Snapshot

Who is contributing to this Snapshot

Meredith Youngson, Therese Boyle, Lesley Clough, Maree Haworth, Annie Lorenzen, Therese Hogan, Heather Thomson, Peter Hurst, Lois Slattery, Pauline Abraham, Veita Harding, Melissa Teague, Dan Thompson, Daniel Leishman

Partners, Organisations, PEOPLE

Partners, organisations, people

Tangata whenua, Poihakena Marae, Raglan Community House, West Coast Health, Raglan Trust Hospital and Rest Home, Whaingaroa Environment Centre, Timebank Raglan, Raglan Lions, Plunket

Community Wellbeing Strengths & Assets

“There is a community pride in Raglan that keeps us active and collaborative”

Mike , Raglan Community House

Raglan is a vibrant, caring community that engages in issues important to us. We are resilient and open to growth and change, with a strong community spirit that keeps us connected and cohesive. There is strong local leadership in all age groups and we live in an environment rich in natural resources that support wellbeing.

A range of conventional healthcare services including:

General Practitioners and practice nurses at clinic in town.
West Coast Health are going to be building a purpose built medical centre.
Counsellors
Mental Health Support Service (what is this)
Physiotherapist
District nurses
Midwives
Dentist and hygienist

Emergency services including:

Ambulance
PRIME (Primary response in medical emergencies) during West Coast Health opening hours. St John’s NZ are currently reviewing PRIME.
Fire
Coast guard
Surf lifesaving
Police including community patrol

Older adult support services including:

Rest home and palliative care (nurses and West Coast Health General Practitioners)
Stewart street housing
Community House meet ups and support
Light exercise
Senior technology group

A range of complementary health services including:

Counselling and psychotherapy
Massage therapists
Medical Herbalists and Naturopaths
Energy healers
Coaching and Mentoring
Osteopaths
Podiatrist
Rongoa traditional Maori medicine

Raglan Community House services including:

Meetings and workshops
Counselling Budgeting advice
Drop in Centre
Opportunity Shop
Homeless people welcomed

Exercise and recreation groups including:

Raglan Ramblers and other walking groups
Raglan Gym
Yoga
Keep fit classes
Dance classes such as Nia, Zumba and African Dance
Excellent skate park and variety of playgrounds

Range of community groups including:

Faith-based organisations
Lions
Crop Swap
Horticultural Society
Writers group
Knitting Circle
Book clubs
Permaculture group
Whaingaroa Environment Centre
Raglan Timebank
Old School Art Centre
Information Centre
Foodbank
Library – including a Council Officer who deals with local issues
Community Bus

Support for young families including:

Plunket
Bryant Retreat for fragile mums
Kindergartens and Early Childhood Education centre
Play Centre and Play groups
Mainly Music
Raglan Noticeboard Facebook Page
Raglan Radio
Maori Wardens
Neighbourhood Support

Future Challenges & Opportunities

Key challenges that are specific to the wellbeing group:

Isolation and loneliness, particularly in our older community members but also with youth and young families.
Financial – access to services without the constraint of financial worries or transport issues
Transport to local medical services
Poverty
Greed and inequity
Mental Health Issues – disempowerment leading to anxiety and depression, suicide
Family Harm

Alcohol Issues
Chronic pain and addiction
Having to go into Hamilton for services such as hearing tests, sight tests, drivers licences, and many health services including Mental Health
Health literacy the capacity to find, interpret and use information and health services to make effective decisions for health and wellbeing.
Maintaining viability of community groups, especially finding meeting spaces that are are accessible, affordable and consistently available
Affordable Housing

For the key challenges that need to be considered across all focus areas, these are the questions we are asking:

Impact

How does this challenge impact on Community Wellbeing
How does Community Wellbeing impact this challenge?

Opportunity:

What is the opportunity for us in Community Wellbeing in relation to this challenge?

The key challenges:

Climate change

Impact: Extreme weather storms flooding, loss of property, housing, security, power, communications, employment, health dangers of heat waves, adverse impacts especially on the disadvantaged, drought, storms causing increases in basic food prices, more pests and diseases, unaffordable insurance
Opportunity: Building community resilience, community disaster response, building local and diverse food production, local employment and local infrastructure (eg local power generation) all of which also mitigate carbon emissions and climate change

Inequity

Impact: Dramatic worsening of all measures of mental and physical wellbeing (including strong correlations with violence, drug use, obesity, mental health, teen pregnancy, crime, prison population, life expectancy – Research data in “The Spirit Level” book)
Opportunity: To greatly enhance personal health and community wellbeing

Growth in visitor numbers

Impact: High cost of housing, congestion, noise but also a huge boost to local economy, amenities, shops, cafes and restaurants, leisure activities, creative activities (for instance, supporting a large community of artists)
Opportunity: Lots of youth visitors and international visitors contribute to Raglan in many ways, WOOFING, new ideas, entrepreneurship, new ways of living, cohousing, etc

Implementing the Treaty of Waitangi

Impact: Lack of education
Opportunity: Learning from Tangata Whenua a whole-system approach to health, environment, food production, housing (as opposed to ‘fixing’ problems in isolation)

Modern societal values – individualism, competition, materialism

Impact: inequity, loss of community and caring, stress and burnout, rapidly worsening mental health, environmental impact of ever-increasing consumption and single-use products, increase in lifestyle diseases, overall worsening physical and mental health, shorter life-span
Opportunity: to create sustainable, human values in our community, working and flourishing together, local sustainable manufacture, making goods that last and can be repaired, better mental and physical health.

Housing

Impact: market-driven solutions have created very high cost and inequity, huge burden on young families, loss of security, home ownership rates falling fast. New housing developments threaten to overwhelm existing infrastructure
Opportunity: New forms of housing economics: separate home ownership from land ownership, community housing initiatives, build to own, rent to buy, the opportunity to build caring communities within housing clusters, etc

Aspirations & Goals Identified by the Focus Groups with supporting projects, strategies and initiatives.
(Please note that there may be areas that are still to be completed.)

Values behind the goals & aspirations	Aspirations vision for long term& Goals measurable, specific, achievable	StrategiesDifferent ways goals can be achieved	Projects & Initiatives Specific actions, responsibility, funding	Crossover with other Focus Areas
Community, Relationships, Collaboration	We have a robust and flexble 5-10 year community plan	Raglan Naturally is a living document which is regularly monitored and revised by community	RN community group works with Council and Community Board to ensure the plan is adhered to.	All Focus areas are affected
Community Connection Relationships Sharing – especially shared spaces and resources	A central Wellbeing hub that connects our people with available community services. This is easily accessible with parking nearby, and includes a central meeting area with a kitchen/café type space and storage space for the community groups that meet there.
Community Connection Relationships ‘We invest in community connectedness’	A dedicated Community connector, based in the Wellbeing Hub, who can actively broker relationships and connections for people who are isolated and lonely, or who need community support.
Inclusiveness Respect Compassion Caring Safety	Raglan is a safe and an age friendly community – all stages of life, and their transitions, are acknowledged, valued and looked after.
Tiriti of Waitangi Diversity Equity Respect Harmony Nurturing our Youth Supporting families Valuing our seniors	There is a strong emphasis on Youth empowerment, respect for our elderly, as well as excellent child care facilities
Partnerships Compassion Respect Openness Diversity	Healthcare is holistic and affordable. We look after our physical, mental, spiritual and emotional wellbeing and every member of our community can access support for this through conventional and complementary health therapists, including after hours and weekends.	· An up-to-date Directory of services and community organisations available to all. · Identify discussion and support groups that are needed
Compassion Equity Accessibility	Community visits from gerontologists to provide an annual assessment of assistance that may be required and reviews of medication for our older residents
Compassion Healing trauma Equity Accessibility	Strong focus on Mental Health support available to all in our community
Compassion Family support Healing trauma	Strong focus on alcohol and family harm issues
Equity Compassion Justice Respect Health	People have access to good quality affordable food
Equity Compassion Justice Respect Safety Health	People have access to good quality affordable housing
Kaitiakitanga Community Compassion Respect Sustainability	We acknowledge that looking after our Mother earth, our environment, is part of looking after ourselves and we take pride in caring for our town and its environs.
Kaitiakitangi Sustainability	Our waterways are healthy and we all have access to clean water
Tiriti of Waitangi Diversity Equity Trust Community Cooperation	We are curious about and respectful of the diverse cultures within our community, and we celebrate our own.
Kaitiakitanga Inclusivity Equity Sustainability	There are transport options to allow people to get around, that also consider our environment in the short and long term	Community Bus operating around the Raglan area.
Relationships Creativity	Arts and creativity are considered key aspects of wellbeing, and reflect the character and aspirations of the community
Equity Participation Community	We have access to efficient and reliable communication tools and technology.
Equity Sustainability Local employment Flourishing in community	Raglan has a sustainable economic base.

Questions from the Community Wellbeing

1. What’s missing in our Snapshot?

2. In terms of Community Wellbeing in Raglan in 2018, what do you see as our current most important strengths or assets?

3. What do you consider our biggest or most important challenges?

4. Looking to the future, what aspirations do you have for community wellbeing in Raglan in the short and long term?

We appreciate all the work of the Focus Group members

Topics Covered:

Who is Contributing to this Snapshot

Partners, Organisations, PEOPLE

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