Te Puea Memoria Marae To Host Hui For Urban Homelessness

Te Puea Memorial Marae and researchers from Ko ngā wā kāinga hei whakamāhorahora - the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities (BBHTC) National Science Challenge - will hold their first symposium about their research and share initial insights that centre on the work of the Marae to address urban homelessness. The hui will be held at Te Puea Memorial Marae in Auckland on Wednesday 19 September.

For the past year, the research team has been working with the Marae to co-develop the Te Manaaki o te Marae research programme.

Key to the research is to better understand why their Manaaki Tāngata E Rua transitional housing programme is so successful at supporting Whānau Maori who are homeless.

“It is a good example of how Law and Lore can work successfully together on a Marae,” says Chairman Hurimoana Dennis. “The research has now put a presentable face to the homeless problem.”

The flagship National Science Challenge project, 'Te Manaaki o te Marae' is part of the Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua research programme. The project is co-led by Unitec Institute of Technology’s Rau Hoskins and University of Waikato Associate Professor Jenny-Lee Morgan.

“We have the ability to study what works in our Māori communities,” explains co-principle leader of the Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua programme, Rau Hoskins. “This is the brink of a breakthrough for urban homelessness.”

Through conducting interviews with clients at the Marae, researchers have observed how Te Puea Memorial Marae’s model of housing and wraparound services is applied.

"The ancient practice of manaakitanga is at the heart of the Marae-based intervention, it is part of the DNA of Te Puea Memorial Marae, that seeks to provide a cultural landscape of care,” says co-principle leader of the Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua programme Jenny-Lee Morgan.

This is the first time this Challenge’s research team will be sharing their initial insights from the highly innovative Māori research programme they co-created with Te Puea Memorial Marae. They are continuing to conduct interviews and collect data.

“What’s exciting is we’re beginning to understand why tikanga Māori works to help people feel loved, warm and supported,” says Hoskins. “With a formula, it could help develop a universal framework for the benefit of all.”

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