Voyce- Whakarongo Mai service, will fill a significant gap for children and young people in care in New Zealand, and follows the 2015 Expert Panel review of Child, Youth and Family. It will be the first of its kind in New Zealand, connecting young people together who are under the care of CYF.
Tupua Urlich, Rangatahi Trustee of Voyce Whakarongo Mai says, “We understand that disconnect we’ve seen it. We made it our challenge to empower Māori, to help Māori not make an issue that Māori need to be helped out of.
Tracie Shipton, Director - Dingwall Trust says, that the most significant shift will be that young people have been involved with designing this organisation and the cry from them has been echoed constantly and that is, "we were taken from our families we’ve displaced in a system. The system doesn't allow us to speak for ourselves and we're a bit lost and can’t find our way back.”
Gráinne Moss, Chief Executive - Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki says, that the service will work closely with iwi, urban Māori organisations and Māori leaders to ensure services effectively respond to the needs of Māori children.
The service will be launched on Saturday with a fun child-focused event in Auckland.