Last month we celebrated the graduation of twelve men from the latest Te Kaupapa Whakamana program in Putaruru. All twelve are on sentences ranging from parole and home detention to supervision, and the Te Kaupapa Whakamana program has helped these men gain insight into areas including anger, substance abuse, depression and relationship dynamics.
"It's about empowering and inspiring men to be great", says Lamen, the program facilitator. "We see offenders become motivated and go on to make positive changes. I use the analogy of an island as the place where they're at and talk about how we need to journey to a different land. In life we have storms that come our way and sometimes the storms keep you where you're at and other times they help move you on."
Local Probation Officer Ann-Maria Vine says it's the only such program available locally and without it offenders would have to travel to programs in other centres. "We have nothing else in Putaruru for these offenders. Lamen's really good to work with. What we hear back from our people is that he just delivers really good content in a way that they are able to understand. His holistic approach really seems to work."
The next Te Kaupapa Whakamana program kicks off mid July, so please get in touch if you would like to join us.
