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A Greenhorn Community Mentor

When I first met [Mr E] I was still pretty green, and I must admit it was a bit terrifying to be in his presence. I had read the notes and the various medical situations he had been in and was unsure about what to expect.Our first interaction was a list of expletives (many of which I hadn’t heard since my youth), because the wind had blown an envelope off his desk. I didn’t quite know what to do so I did nothing, which in the end, more by luck than judgment, turned out to be the right thing ...

Love, Loss and Support

It is always a fear that sits deep down in every Community Mentor’s heart that at some point a tragedy will strike either one of the people we serve, or the people they are closest to. It happened this year when a person’s mother became unwell and was given only a short time to live. Due to the time constraints and the distance away that she lived, Interactionz had to move fast and decisively to give mother and son the last chance to be together and quickly put plans in place to make it happ...

A Conversation with our Rock Stars

I decided to take some time today to have a chat with the people that frequent our “Common-Interest” group. Rather than a boring conversation about tea and biscuits, we decided on an ‘interview’ that would take the premise of a lowly reporter interviewing a rock band, and it was greeted with the enthusiasm that I expected from this group where smiles always abound. Sadly, there were a couple that weren’t on stage today, but we still enjoyed our time chatting about, well, just about, ev...

Tegan Morris - The Ripple Effect

The ‘iconic and legendary’ Tegan Morris was born with a rare form of muscular dystrophy and faced many challenges, but her unexpected and sudden passing was a shock to her family, friends, and work colleagues.Tegan saw herself as a multi-faceted gemstone, perhaps a ruby or a garnet, launched by her parents into the world, and like a stone skipping across water, she made ripples when she touched someone’s life. As the ripples spread, they intersected, creating interconnections. She loved th...

Learning. Unlearning. Relearning.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”- Alvin Toffler. Writer, Futurist, Businessman (1928-2016) Understanding and embracing the learning, unlearning and relearning journey is essential for the workforce in the disability sector, which is currently undergoing the most significant transformation since deinstitutionalisation.  There is much to unlearn about traditional service-driven practice and...

Philosophy of Visual Planning

We’ve all heard the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words” and our brains are good at processing and understanding visual images. That’s one reason why businesses take great care creating distinctive logos (think the big yellow M and the apple with a bite out of it…).  At Interactionz, as we facilitate a person to think about how they want their life to be, we understand that creating visual images in those moments as they speak about what matters helps them t...

Interactionz's journey towards person-driven practice

The idea of 'person-driven practice' started 20-years ago when I  took on the task of leading Interactionz (or Hamilton Workshops and Training Centre) as it was known then. Of course it did not have the title 'person-driven practice' in 1999, but having had no experience in the disability sector I had no preconceived ideas of what was right and what was wrong. On the surface, the idea of providing jobs for people who might otherwise struggle to find employment seemed like a great idea. ...

Tevita – a man with a plan

Many young men grow up dreaming of becoming like their Dad, and Tevita is not any different. He dreamt of following his Dad’s shared interest in music, having a paying job and being able to be proud of his contribution to the community. To be a man of mana.However, things were not working out how Tevita had hoped. Tevita and his family didn’t want him to be segregated from the community, and wanted to make sure that he had access to opportunities that other kids had growing up. For this reas...

Mark – on the PATH to independence and happiness

In five years Mark’s* (not his real name) life journey has seen a significant turn-around. When he originally came to Interactionz he struggled with managing his temper and self-control when things angered or disappointed him. In fact, managing the dynamic of Mark reacting physically to such situations meant that he required constant one-to-one active supervision, as an approved restraint technique had been frequently used in his last environment to mitigate what could be dangerous behaviour. ...

Margaret – mastering independent travel

All her life, Margaret (not her real name) has challenged expectations. She learned to read when she started school, and by age six could recognise more than 50 words. Two years ago, Margaret left home to live in a Community Living house with two flatmates. Neither of these achievements would have been considered possible when Margaret, who has Down Syndrome, was born in 1970. When she was born, Margaret’s parents were encouraged to put her in an institution, which they firmly refused to do. A...

Luke – confidence and communication skills flourish together

Luke* (not his real name) used to spend his life in isolation. He was painfully shy, avoiding contact with others; instead keeping himself in self-imposed exile in his bedroom. Like other teenagers, he would keep himself busy playing video games, however he far preferred the company of technology to interacting with people in the outside world. His relationship with his family had suffered because his difficulty with communication had made him frustrated and angry – leading to arguing and tens...

Kemara –embracing his heritage

To have pride in ourselves and a sense of identity is something we all strive for, and for many, it is hard to achieve. However, this vision is becoming a reality for Kemara – since he started planning his future with Interactionz mentors last year, he has been able to achieve levels of independence and self-worth than he could not have dreamed of only months ago.Much of this monumental change within Kemara’s life can be attributed to Interactionz’ philosophy of empowering the people they ...

Blossom – opportunities bloom

Life is really blooming for Blossom these days. Embracing her independence, she has a new enthusiasm for life as she realises that more things are possible and available. Blossom, now finds herself in the unexpected position of being a largely independent woman, who catches up with her friends around the community, attends art classes – even planning to sell her work, and has a mobile phone which she uses to stay in touch with her family. You may presume that this is no great feat – that thi...

Nigel – finding the key to open up his world

Many of us take our lives for granted; the ease with which we move around and interact with people in shops and on streets, and form relationships with people at work and school – most of us mingle actively in the community, communicating our thoughts, wants and needs, whether we think about it or not. Imagine then a life where you preferred not to talk to people. Where verbal communication was difficult for you, and you had never spoken to some of the people who have supported you, despite th...

Volunteer Week

Each year New Zealand celebrates National Volunteer Week to recognise and celebrate the vital contribution of New Zealand’s approximately 1.2 million volunteers, in areas as diverse as social development, the economy and the environment.‘Live, laugh, share – volunteer’ is the theme this year, which helps capture the heart-felt appreciation we feel when people come together to build stronger, more vibrant communities through volunteer service.Interactionz celebrated National Volunteer wee...