Harmony Pasifika is focused on fostering lasting change and building safer communities through innovative mental health interventions and targeted programmes for impaired drivers.

With recent data revealing that alcohol and drugs is the number one contributing factor in fatal road crashes in Aotearoa New Zealand, Harmony Pasifika continues to address this issue with innovative mental-health interventions designed to help combat this problem and make communities safer.

Harmony Pasifika has a specialist role working with people who have repeat drink driving or drug convictions (or charges) and associated alcohol and drug problems. The charity also provides life-changing mental health interventions, support and education to help individuals, whānau, and communities.

"Our mahi has always been dedicated to helping people make lasting change," said Kilisitina Dawber, CEO of Harmony Pasifika. “We are committed to providing impactful services that tackle some of the biggest social issues and fostering opportunities that lead to greater safety and wellbeing in the community.”

Each year, Harmony Pasifika assists an average of three families per week, provides counselling to 800 individuals, and supports around 1,500 people in group therapy sessions.

“The need for specific intervention programmes for drunk and drugged drivers has increased significantly over the years,” adds Kilisitina. “Our road safety programmes make participants confront the issues, including their attitudes, experiences and associates, that may be contributing to their behaviour.”

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One For The Road, Harmony Pasifika’s flagship programme, focuses on individuals referred for impaired driving offences who are typically hard to engage and resistant to change – and targets underlying issues alongside the criminogenic and addiction needs of repeat impaired drivers. An independent evaluation has shown a 20.2 percent reduction in re-offending compared to a matched control group and low reconviction rates after therapy.

Based off this success, Harmony Pasifika recently piloted a new programme called Safe & Sober Driver. This is an online group therapy programme tailored for those with less than three prior drink/drug driving convictions and who are living outside the Auckland region, making it an accessible option for participants who might otherwise struggle to get the intervention support they need.

Kilisitina shares, “One of the important parts of our programmes is showing repeat drink/drug drivers that they’re potential killers. They can shatter dreams and rob people of a whānau member. We’re proud of the change we’ve been able to achieve so far, but we know we still have more work to do.”

Harmony Pasifika’s Ready for the Road programme is growing in popularity too. This programme is designed specifically for rangatahi who are at risk of offending while driving and who want to build responsible driving habits before sitting for their licence.

As Harmony Pasifika continues to expand its reach, it remains committed to empowering more people to make positive change and are fundraising to achieve this.

“For the first time in our history, we are holding the Harmony Pasifika Fundraising Event on Saturday November 15, 2024,” said Kilistina. “We invite the community to join us as we’ve planned a wonderful evening to celebrate our mahi and raise crucial funds to expand our service so we can support more people throughout the country.”

The evening will feature a traditional Pasifika style dinner, cultural performances, live music, and a silent auction. Harmony Pasifika are currently looking for raffle and silent auction items that they can use as part of their fundraising activities. They welcome any donations for their raffle or silent auction, and ask that you contact the team at office@harmonypasifika.org.nz if you are in a position to contribute.

About Harmony Pasifika

Since 2007, Harmony Pasifika has supported individuals, whānau, and communities to think differently and make lasting change by holistically addressing the underlying issue(s). Harmony Pasifika is a charity that offers counselling and therapy on areas including anger management, depression, trauma, rangatahi empowement, and whānau support. They specialise in helping people with repeat drink driving/drug charges and are internationally recognised for their One for the Road and Ready for the Road programmes.

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