Mental health kaiāwhina there to care

STELLA Rihari was busy studying towards a planned career as a social worker when everything changed.

“As I got closer to completing my degree I had two placements with Tūranga Health's mental health team,” she says.

“It wasn't an area of practice I’d considered but I found the opportunity to help give disadvantaged people a voice to be deeply rewarding. When a position came up I jumped at it.”

Stella still gets to use her degree.

“There's a lot of crossover from social work and the focus on biculturalism has been really useful. I'd long felt passionate about Māori health and this is such an important part of that.”

As a kaiāwhina in Tūranga Health's busy mental health team, the former teacher gets out and about helping whānau according to needs identified in their specially-tailored support plan.

“We're there for support if they need to be hospitalised, but it’s mainly about helping in their day-to-day lives, whether that be getting to a doctor's appointment or doing their shopping.”

“Some of our whānau are more independent than others but all seem to value just knowing that we care,” she says.

​“They know that we are there, that we’ll work alongside them doing everything we can to help them lead independent, meaningful lives.”

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