Every journey as long as it needs to be

At Mai Lighthouse, every tāne’s journey is honoured for as long as it takes. With wrap-around support and a kaupapa that centres whānau voices, maiTāne is about creating lasting change—one step at a time.

One of the challenges in providing a behaviour change programme for tāne is that everyone has different motivations for attending. Robyn Driver, CEO of Mai Lighthouse in Pukekohe, says there’s no guarantee that all tāne who come into their space will necessarily “buy in” to the programme and stick with the journey. 

“But we go in with the same open heart, open mind. We have to convince them that they have to convince themselves.”

In designing their new initiative, maiTāne, centring the voices of tāne and their whānau was key to understanding what their community needed. What stood out immediately was that tāne had very practical, real-life challenges that needed addressing alongside issues of family harm. 

Now, with group meetings over 8 weeks, one-on-one sessions, and internal referrals to other Mai Lighthouse services – such as advocacy, counselling, budgeting and parenting courses – tāne have the wrap-around support needed to keep them in the programme.

Robyn’s advice to other providers is that going slower during the design phase, built into the journey of Te Huringa ō Te Ao, is better for considering how to provide culturally safe, community-specific delivery, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

“Enjoy the process of having been gifted the time to really design something that is fit for purpose, for the tāne in your area, and that will see them be successful, not just in a programme, but with long-term support.”

“Slow down is the fastest way to achieve.”

As for the future, she says that support for tāne continues with one-to-one kōrero sessions after their 8-week maiTāne course finishes. 

“Like any of our programmes, you’re here as long as you need. We acknowledge that you can't close the door after eight weeks. And so they are with us as long as they require us, and at the end of that journey, whenever it may be, you start to decide how you can scaffold that person to move them on and allow them to continue succeeding independently.” 

“Every journey is as long as it needs to be.”