Published on 22nd of November, 2024
Sophie (not her real name) had been struggling for several years before she reached out to Tautoko Hauora for support.
Prompted by her sister, Sophie made a self-referral after a break in support from a previous health provider that had left her feeling alienated and disillusioned.
“When she first made contact with us she needed help navigating health services to address the ongoing effects from a car accident a number of years back,” recalls Tawera Clark, one of CMM’s Tautoko Hauora kaitautoko (support worker). “The accident left her with significant brain injury, memory loss and other physical problems.”
Sophie was motivated to “do as much as she could for herself” so as not to burden her family who were in full-time work and already had children and kaumātua of their own to take care of. Her 40th birthday was a few years away and she had goals that she still wanted to accomplish despite her ongoing health challenges.
Tawera conducted an assessment at Sophie’s home to ensure that she met the service criteria and discovered a very independent and determined whai ora (person seeking wellness). “She was very clear what she wanted and how to go about achieving it. This was really good! Her goals included reengaging with ACC, accessing specialist services, and engaging with a mental health peer support worker,” says Tawera.
Through Tautoko Hauora Sophie was also able to access a Total Mobility card as well as taxi vouchers. These helped her attend medical appointments and community group activities such as CMM’s Woman Wise programme. “She had been badly socially isolated for a few years. Getting out and about helped her to reconnect with her community and to get to appointments with her doctor and at the hospital.”
Tautoko Hauora was launched in September 2023 as a service provided by four partnering agencies and funded by Pegasus Health to assist people to access primary health care services. The partners are CMM, Christchurch City Mission, Tangata Atumotu Trust, and He Waka Tapu. The partners provide the same service but they each focus on taking referrals that are specific to the skillset and cultural competencies of their team, in addition to the opportunities to refer internally to other appropriate services.
