The team at Te Anua Nua Trust love planning outings and opportunities for community engagement for their residents. Line dancing and weaving at a local marae have become firm favourites for the whole whānau.
The Trust provides a supportive group home environment across two houses in Manurewa, with staff on hand 24 hours a day to provide personalised, mana-enhancing care.
The nine residents with intellectual disabilities and their support workers are always out and about in the community, sometimes even tackling longer trips.
So, when one of the Trust’s ageing Toyota HiAce vans became compromised, it put the brakes on many activities, and a more reliable van was needed.
Thankfully a Trillian Trust grant for a new van means the whole team is back on the road.
Te Anua Nua Trust’s Julia Chong-Nee, who is the personal assistant to CEO Len Moody, applied for the grant on behalf of the Trust.
Julia says the staff work hard to ensure residents are connected to the community and well supported to participate in local events, programmes and meaningful social activities that aren’t too overwhelming for them.
Te Anua Nua Trust’s new management team came onboard mid last year. CEO Len Moodley and Service Manager Angel Liu Chan have been working hard to ensure the organisation is enabling better lives for the whānau/residents, and that their families can be assured that they are well supported.
“The key thing we do here is help them live the lives they want to live. We don’t take away their independence; we encourage them to be in control,” says Julia.
“We have residents who have lived at the home for more than 20 years. This is their family.”
Whenever staff walk through the doors, they are greeted with hugs and big smiles.
“It doesn’t feel like work. Honestly, they teach us more about being in the moment and remembering the simple things in life.”
Staff do laundry every day and, until recently, were coping with one washing machine and no dryer, which was becoming a real challenge.
Trillian Trust came to the rescue again, providing money towards two new commercial washer-dryer stackers.
They arrived at the home just in time for winter and have been a game-changer for staff, who were previously making daily trips to a laundromat to get residents’ clothes and linen dry.
Wiri Licensing Trust Community and Marketing Manager Sophie Rider says supporting Te Anua Nua’s funding applications was an easy decision for Trustees.
“Te Anua Nua does an incredible job creating a home where people are supported to live full and meaningful lives,” she says.
“The new van and laundry equipment might seem like practical items, but they have a real impact on residents’ wellbeing, independence and ability to stay connected to their community.
“We’re delighted that this funding will help ensure residents can continue enjoying the activities they love and receiving the support they need every day.”
Wiri Licensing Trust wants to connect with local community groups and organisations that are doing great work in our hood to understand how we can better support you – email us at info@wiritrust.org.nz.
