The Brown Table
Building whanau resilience. Together.
The Brown Table tackles domestic violence at a regional level in Northland. A collective of leaders from Tai Tokerau Māori and Pacific organisations working in Social Health, the Brown Table meets quarterly to discuss the data and insights of their individual organisational experiences.
What is Whānau Resilience?
The aim of Whānau Resilience is to create strong, resilient communities where whānau are supported to live violence free, and to eliminate violence for the next generation.
Whānau Resilience is a shift from a nationally designed and delivered model to a regionally designed and delivered model and is led by whānau voice and community need.
The purpose of the Brown Table initiative ensures whānau have access to the right supports, when they need them as provided by the individual organisations offering Whānau Resilience across Te Tai Tokerau.
Who We Are
We are a group of eight Tai Tokerau providers who are leaders and champions of Whānau Resilience for Tai Tokerau.
Our 5 Pou
Strengthen cultural identity and
whakapapa
Support whānau to develop their sense of identity within their whānau, hapu and iwi and within te ao maori, and whakamana whānau to take charge of their own destiny.
Strengthen social capability and community connection
Grow community capacity and capability to support and sustain change.
Support behaviour change for men and people using violence
Respectfully challenge men
and those using violence to take responsibility for their behaviour, and provide ongoing strengths-based, culturally responsive support which helps people heal and chose to not use violence
Support trauma healing and recovery
from violence
Use a trauma-informed
analysis of family violence which acknowledges the intergenerational
nature of family violence and the devastating impacts this has on those directly affected or
exposed to it
Create healthy relationships and skills
Create opportunities
to build skills, knowledge and experiences to enable strong, positive and respectful relationships in parents, partners,
whānau and communities
He Taki
Wairua
We view Wairua as being interrelated to everything and as a fundamental aspect of wellbeing. We think, we feel, we act in Wairua. Vaerua: The coming together of two Va. Va meaning the relational space and time that exists between people and places.
Whanaungatanga
Binds individuals to the wider group; affirms the value of the collective; brings people into the one whanau; and provides the basis for us to work together. Tauhi Va: We care for the relational space and time that exists between people and places.
Tika, Pono, Aroha/Fala
Although these values have been heavily used across many sectors, we choose to adopt them in the way that we work together; because they call on us to be fair and accurate; to be honest and genuine in our dealings with one another; and to be compassionate and empathetic of each others feelings. Fala: The fala is representative of the mat in which we care for the shared spaces that tika pono and aroha are exchanged.
Kanohi ki te Kanohi
To ensure that the flame of whanaungatanga burns bright, we will organise to meet regularly, face to face, to share, to learn, to help and to grow together. Atu: We live intentionally and grow together.
Mō Ake Tonu
We will stay the course, maintain commitment and continuity.
Tu'u kalikali: We stand firm.
Te Hokinga Mai/ Foki Mai
We will uphold this taki whenever we meet and we will look at how we have grown and what we have learnt from this challenge.
What Do We Do?
We provide a unified approach to funders, sharing of resources, identifying, and accessing resources as a collective on behalf of the whānau we work with.
We call this Collective Impact (CI) - our intentional way of working together and sharing information for the purpose of addressing whānau resilience.
The Benefits of Our Collective
Accurate regional reporting
Our collective data capturing shows a clearer picture of whānau resilience here in Tai Tokerau.
Regional data capturing
More data means more informed decision-making and allocation of resources. Over time we will not only understand where our resources go but also where resources are missing (the gaps).
Responsive
Joining forces “on the ground” provides the ability to address high needs immediately.
Improved community response
Having an established forum allows for more effective community response discussions and therefore response.
Collaborative complex problem-solving
Pooling our collective knowledge and resources means we can solve problems much more effectively.
Dynamic
We can adapt as a collective as situations change.
Contact / Queries
If you would like to know more about our initiative or have a query please fill in the form and we'll get back to you.