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Auckland-based prisoner rehabilitation service PARS has teamed up with Maori provider Turuki Health Care collaborate on services for those at risk.
Executive director Tui Ah Loo says they will develop a health and wellness service, focusing primarily on Maori and Pasifika clients who have recently been released from prison.
It will address issues including physical health, mental health and substance abuse, and solutions offered will include use of whanau, community, employment and housing resources.
She says returning to society is extremely challenging for many former inmates, especially those who are stigmatised or don’t have adequate support in place to help them readjust to daily life.
Turuki chief executive Te Puea Winiata says both organisations are committed to a kaupapa Maori and whanau-centred approach, which means the venture is more likely to succeed than earlier pilots which lacked Maori GPs and culturally appropriate settings.
She says the service will also support the children and whanau of those involved.
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