Description
Te Hau Ora O Kaikohe (THOOK) Charitable Trust was established in 1994. Based in the main centre of Kaikohe, and deliver significant programmes in the Mid North area that align to achieving optimal whānau outcomes. Whānau are within a wide geographical area including Te Whare Tapu o Ngāpuhi Iwi boundaries, covering the middle Far North from South Hokianga through to Mangakāhia, across to the Bay of Islands and down to the South-Western Whangarei District. Kaikohe is the main centre visited by whānau.
THOOK have three outcomes in mind:
- Healthy Whānau
- Vibrant Community and
- Lead by Example
Any programmes, projects or contracts they deliver must contribute to these outcomes. Currently they deliver the following services:
- Family Start (a home based intensive parenting service)
- Rongoā Māori (working with traditional healers and practitioners of mirimiri and rongoā)
- Rheumatic Fever Screening Programme (delivered in eight local schools)
- Age Well (support and coordination of elderly programme)
- Outreach Nursing Services
- Kaikohe Intersectoral Whānau Ora Initiative (Community Action Intersectoral Group looking at addressing broader health issues in the community)
- Road and Home Safety Education Programme•Health Promotion Agency Youth Champion – Unicycling Programme in Schools
- He Rongoā Pai He Oranga Whānau (Whānau living well with medicines training).
THOOK specifically target tamariki (children), tai tamariki (youth), kuia (elderly women) and kaumātua (elderly men) as these are the vulnerable groups within their communities.
Kaikohe has a significant tai tamariki population. According to the 2006 census 35% of the population were tamariki and 19% were 15-29 years old. In 2011 the Ministry of Youth Development released the Northland: Youth Voices Consultation Report. This report identified six key issues / areas for action in order to realise the potential of young people. One of those key issues was violence and gangs. The report noted that 13.9% of the Northland participants found that violence and gangs was a ‘big issue’ compared with 3.5% nationally. This highlighted the fact that young people in Northland want to feel safer in their communities. Kaikohe is no exception.
The city has high rates of violent crime and has an average NZDep score of 10 (Ministry of Social Development, 2010). The city is also geographically isolated, making access to and through services difficult, especially for those that live outside of the city. In 2012 there were 35 completed suicides