Cristy Trewartha
The name Cristy Trewartha comes up frequently in Change Agent Profiles. That is because Cristy has been part of the HEART whānau since the beginning. She engaged with people early on in a way that left a lasting impression. Cristy had worked in Tāmaki before, but her connection to HEART came through academic pathways. Her academic supervisor Dr. Janet Fanslow connected her to Puamiria Maaka (former Te Waipuna Puawai CEO) who was leading a working group to develop a long-term approach to prevent family violence in Tāmaki. Cristy joined the working group, and in 2010 her Master’s dissertation “It is OK to help: effective community mobilisation to prevent family violence” was used to inform the development of HEART.
In 2011 Cristy was employed as the coordinator of the HEART Movement at Te Waipuna Puawai. She remembers it being a busy time engaging with lots of people and groups. Her early engagement was guided by the TIES (Tāmaki Inclusive Engagement Strategy) way of working. She was supported by strong advocates such as Puamiria, Sister Marie Brown, Tara Moala, Chris Makoare, and Margaret and Tom Ngapera. Cristy says approaching the subject of family violence required a delicate touch, gauging people’s readiness on both what was said and noticing what went unsaid.
Looking back on her time as HEART coordinator (2011-2014) she says getting to talk with lots of community members in many different settings was a highlight. HEART hui, projects, training and events provided safe spaces to start conversations. HEART ran small events in local neighbourhood parks all over Tāmaki. This allowed people to join in in their own way - whether that meant looking over the fence to feel it out first or helping to run an event for neighbours in their own street. She remembers how the language of healthy relationships opened people up - the moments when she saw a shift in body language or look in someone’s eyes that emanated positivity and aroha. She says these moments epitomise the energy that fuels HEART, the idea that things can be different and better, and that we all want that.
Cristy says talking about healthy relationships begins an ongoing journey about our relationships with ourselves, our loved ones and our communities. It doesn’t stop, it just keeps going and deepening. She says we can all learn more about how to have healthy relationships and that this starts with ourselves. She says that real communication is a huge part of healthy relationships. In a healthy relationship, everyone gets to have their say and it’s ok to have different ideas, beliefs and opinions.
Cristy is big on community-led and evidence based approaches. Recently she completed her doctoral thesis “Measuring Community Mobilisation” (available on the HEART website) which included case studies on preventing family violence and promoting healthy relationships in Tāmaki and Ranui. Her research shows that community readiness to prevent family violence and promote healthy relationships in Tāmaki has increased since 2011. She is now sharing what we’ve learnt in Tāmaki more widely, and has found there is huge interest in community mobilisation as a strategy to address family violence.
HEART is still a unique initiative in Aotearoa, and Cristy says it has all the makings for creating real change. Her commitment to HEART since 2009 in various capacities is testament to this.
Cristy is a member of the HEART Advisory Group and supports HEART with strategic advice as a volunteer.
Ngā mihi Dr. Cristy Trewartha, your commitment to HEART is inspiring and means a lot to the Tāmaki community.