CEO’s Message
Kia ora me te mihi mahana – hello and warmest greetings.
One of the wonderful aspects of introducing each year’s Annual Report is that it enables me to pause and look back over the past year and all that has been achieved.
This year, as always, I’m marvelling at the hours of important mahi by the dedicated staff of Visionwest Waka Whakakitenga and feel inspired by the stories of whānau whose lives have been transformed as they and Visionwest have journeyed together. My hope is that, as you read this 2023 – 2024 Annual Report, you also will be encouraged and inspired.
Looking through the lens of our Strategic Plan
We have just passed the halfway mark of implementing Towards Tomorrow; Ahu ana ki apōpō, Visionwest’s five-year strategic plan. I’m basing this encouragement to you on the five strategic areas within that plan.
Prioritising Kaupapa Māori
Since embarking on the Five-Year Strategic Plan, we have grown both our delivery of services within a Kaupapa Māori framework and our understanding of what this means to our organisation and the whānau who it touches on a daily basis.
There are exciting times ahead in this space involving a shared leadership model that is both innovative and honouring to Te Tiriti o Waitangi by acknowledging and putting into action a true partnership between Māori and Pākehā. This is the culmination of our journey over the past ten years and in particular the last 24 months as we journeyed, and spent time in kōrero and wānanga growing our understanding and visioning how a shared leadership model could be implemented at Visionwest. The exploration, learning and discovery in 2023 and 2024 set the foundation for welcoming Fred Astle (Tainui) into the position of Tumu, Deputy Chief Executive in August 2024.
(A celebration event for the shared leadership model was held on Thursday
8 August 2024 and will be reported on in detail in next year’s Annual Report).
I would like to acknowledge Matua Fred’s dedication to supporting Māori, Pasefika and all to thrive. I would also like to express my thanks to all those who have given time, wisdom and support to our shared leadership journey and which, as we enter a new financial year, we are ready to move ahead with.
Addressing Homelessness
On the list of social challenges facing Aotearoa New Zealand today, homelessness sits near the top of the list. We know that from the stability of safe, healthy, permanent housing, children can attend one school, whānau can look at training and employment opportunities, and mental health improves. For this reason, the addressing of homelessness remains a priority for Visionwest.
We have, once again, increased the number of tenancies provided by our Community Housing team and continue to grow our work through our
housing services.
We have also continued to move forward on work relating to the proposed development of our Glendale Road site in Auckland. The development will include a village concept for West Auckland that provides a proposed 28 apartments for community housing alongside modern support service facilities and shared spaces that nurture and support whānau. The team focusing on this is hard at work preparing a solid foundation for a capital campaign and the development that will follow. Over the coming year, a lot more about this exciting project will be shared.
Increasing Community Wellbeing
In the past year, an increasing community demand has meant all our essential support services have developed and grown. For some services, the growth has been through the consolidation of existing service delivery; others have taken on new programmes.
Of note are new programmes taken on by Mātanga Oranga, (these are for claimants relating to the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Abuse in State Care and a response service for elder abuse), the opening of Whare Hiwa (both mentioned already), and the appointment of a Storm Recovery Navigator.
After all the mahi that went into establishing Manaaki Kai, our social supermarket, it was incredibly satisfying, in June 2023, to celebrate its first year of operation with the news that we were able to support 1,348 shoppers. This is on top of the 13,585 emergency food parcels provided through our Pātaka Kai. The increasing demand for food support along with our other whānau support services is a reminder of the growing impact the increased cost-of-living has on many in our community.
Collaborating for Change
In Visionwest’s mission statement, Building Hope Together – Kia Tūmanakotia, the word ‘together’ is pivotal; it’s an acknowledgement of both Visionwest’s walking alongside whānau as well as the partnerships we have with various businesses, organisations and individuals without whom we could not accomplish the significant achievements you can read about in this Annual Report.
I want to give a genuine and heartfelt thanks to all those government departments, business partners, and generous donors who we partner with to build hope together in the lives of whānau throughout Aotearoa.
Two examples of this collaboration are Te Kapu and our Community Chaplain. Te Kapu, the Glen Eden Baptist Church (GEBC) free weekly community lunch attracts around 100 people each week. For many of those attending, it is so much more than a free meal, it provides the opportunity for social contact that many would otherwise miss out on and enables Visionwest staff to connect with whānau to determine what other support services they may require.
Simon, our Community Chaplain – another collaboration with GEBC – is pivotal to Te Kapu and Visionwest’s wider mahi. He plays an important role supporting Visionwest client whānau with needs that go beyond the typical Visionwest support services.
Thank you GEBC and everyone with whom we collaborate in some way.
Resourcing for Tomorrow
The growth of Visionwest and the demand for its essential services requires back-office support that adds to the efficiency of those services. In our five-year strategic planning, we received feedback from our kaimahi (staff) on the importance they placed on having the systems, processes and spaces that support them to work effectively. Throughout the past year, much thought and planning has gone into ensuring that the support provided is fit for purpose and providing the best solutions for our current needs.
A number of our resourcing projects have been written about in detail elsewhere in this report. These include, MobilityPlus, an improved human resources information system, our new Waikato Home Healthcare office, the planning for a community hub development on our Glendale Road site and Visionwest’s organisation review which has led to a closer integration of services and structuring for future growth.
A significant project I want to mention is our Organisational Design review. In close kōrero with our Māori Development team and others, the Trust Board has been discussing what the organisational structure of Visionwest should look like as we continue to support future growth.
We were also pleased to launch our staff wellbeing programme this year. We have received positive feedback from our kaimahi about what this support has meant to them.
Words of thanks
As you can see from my words above, and the report that follows, the 2023 – 2024 year was an incredibly busy one with the current one showing no sign of slowing down. What is consistent amid this busyness is that lives are being changed. It’s this promise of the hope that leads to life transformation that keeps all of us at Visionwest going.
In closing, I’d like to acknowledge and thank every individual who makes up the wider Visionwest Waka Whakakitenga whānau. This includes the staff and members of GEBC for their continuing support which is given in so many practical ways, donors and supporters, partnering businesses and organisations, our Board of Trustees and, of course, the hardworking kaimahi who make up the Visionwest staff teams around Aotearoa New Zealand. I’m both in awe of and humbled by the commitment of each person who gives so generously to instil hope and practical solutions into the lives of those who are finding things tough right now.
To all who so faithfully support the work of Visionwest, thank you.
Ngā mihi mahana,
Lisa Woolley, CEO