Māori Lived Experience Leadership

Māku te ra e tō ana; kei a koe te urunga ake o te rā
Let mine be the setting sun; yours is the dawning of a new day.

 

The Lived Experience Leadership Team at Te Aka Whaiora sit within the Oranga Hinengaro, Service Development directorate. The team was established in recognition of He Ara Oranga and Te Pae Tata which spoke of the need for lived experience (consumer voice) to be the voice and capability that drives the design and delivery of mental health and addictions services in Aotearoa.

Director of Lived Experience, Egan Bidois and his team (which includes 4 Regional Leads and a Principal Advisor) have backgrounds in advocating for users of mental health and addiction services and are passionate about helping those in their most vulnerable times.

Along with their lived experience, the team bring a range of skills working in the health sector with expertise in public policy, psychology, mental health, healthcare, policy analysis, forensics, addictions, disability, programme development, health promotion and participatory engagement.  Their unique perspectives come from having navigated their own wellbeing journeys through the health system providing invaluable insights to help shape responsive, effective and person directed policies and services.

Bidois says, “Our mission is to empower and elevate every lived experience voice. We are committed to creating a space where every individual can inform, direct, and influence the design and delivery of mental health and addiction services. We hold ourselves accountable to our lived experience communities, ensuring transparency, effectiveness, and meaningful value in all our work”.  

The Lived Experience team have completed a number of successful initiatives and achievements over the past year including:

Delivery of the National Māori Lived Experience Forum

• The forum provided a platform to identify current issues, barriers, and challenges, share best practices and inform the Lived Experience Leadership Team’s Programme of Work.

Regular Regional Online Forums

• Established regular monthly online forums in each region, providing a virtual space to discuss mental health and addiction challenges and accomplishments specific to localities.
• Empowering local voices to influence regional policies and service improvements.

Policy Advocacy and Recommendations

• Successfully advocated for policy changes at the national level influencing legislation related to the Mental Health Act.
• Alcohol Levy – Study on Alcohol Harm Costs to Society, Increase on Levy, Reaching out to Marginalised Communities.

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) initiative

• Successfully secured $2.5 million funding contract for Housing and Urban Development to implement support actions for the emergency housing system to support clients with urgent housing needs when transitioning from the health, justice, or child protection system.

Capability Building and Training

• Training and education sessions for clinical teams, healthcare providers and educators to enhance their understanding of mental health and addiction issues and what is lived experience.
• Training sessions, mentoring and learning opportunities for individuals wanting to enter the lived experience workforce and strengthening pathways.

We are dedicated to enabling the success of achieving set health targets and health outcomes. Our vision is a future where lived experience is recognised, valued, and integrated into the heart of the mental health and addiction system.