Current Connection Spaces

In late 2015 the HEART Movement added an outcome to its Strategic Plan which focuses on building social capital and cohesion. This outcome is defined as:

Fostering community cohesion and conversation - People start to reach out and talk to others about safe family environments, healthy relationships and how to build that within their own families and communities. They ask for support and provide support to others.

To build community conversation and support for people to connect with each other, we initiated the first Koru group in 2016. Koru group continues to be a space that is available for people living and working in Tāmaki to come together and talk about how things are going, to get support and give others a listening ear. Since 2016 we have created various spaces for connection and support. Please see below for our current connection spaces.

Women’s Koru Group

The Koru group for women began at Tāmaki Community Development Trust on the 5th May 2017. The hope was to build strong healing practices, support each other, make friends, be a friend and have a cup of tea.

The group discusses things that matter in a safe and supportive environment. We have settled on two important rules - no judgement, and no advice.

Since then the group has waxed and waned but never stopped. We currently meet every single Friday morning, at 10am at a local venue alternating between Glen Innes or Panmure. We hope you can join us soon.

See where we’ll be this week on our Facebook group, or get in touch with Carla Perese for more info: carla@tpmot.com

Men’s Koru Group

As per the women’s group, "no judgement, no advice" is the main principle of the Men’s Koru Group - a safe space for men to talk, vent, or share without fear of being judged or given advice. Sometimes you just need to be heard, our koru group is a safe place to be heard.

To all our wonderful tane in Tāmaki, haere mai! Wāhine mā, if you know anyone who would love to join, invite them to come along!

When we meet in person we have light refreshments and a cuppa tea. When we're in lockdown, we meet online.

For further details, join the group on our Facebook page, message the HEART Movement page, or contact:

Isoa Kavakimotu - 02040177443 / Joel Carpenter - 0212881598

We hope to see you online or in person soon!

Past Connection Spaces

Below are some of our support groups, spaces for connection and conversations which have taken place over the years. We move with the energy of our community and while we celebrate the success of these that have happened, we acknowledge the interest has moved on to new spaces now.

Men’s Talanoa

In November 2020, our Change Agent Benji Timu partnered with Plantation Conversations to create a mens talanoa to take place on White Ribbon Day. It was a huge success and we welcomed more than 30 men to share, discuss and learn from each other at Te Oro. Read more about the night on our blog post.

Koru Pēpi

Koru Pēpi came out of a need for parents and caregivers of little ones (0-5) to connect over the covid lockdown in 2020. Every week Thursday at 2pm, one of us led a video call check in, to see how we're all doing! We also had a Koru Group for Mandarin speaking caregivers and tamariki on Mondays at 1pm.

We shared the highs and lows of having little ones, gave each other some inspiration, some ideas and a place to connect with people in the same situation as you.

Caregivers could decide to join the call with or without video and decline if that day was not the day for them!

Koru Pēpi was a huge success, read more about participants stories on our blog.

24FIT Tāmaki with Leah Sooipu

If you joined any of the online health and fitness classes with Leah Sooipu over the covid lockdown of 2020 you will know how fun and motivating these were! Once we got out of lockdown, we were so happy for Leah to continue her health and fitness classes at Te Whare Piringa Our Place! 💪

These took place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Wednesday evenings - All FREE!

Free to all fitness levels, body shapes and sizes, and nutrition guides were included. 🥗🥙🍎🍉

Leah is a local Panmure resident, HEART Change Agent and a mother of 6 😍 It was so fun supporting our sister and getting fit and healthy at the same time!

"Leah made me feel and work muscles that I hadn't felt before! She makes you feel at ease and has tips for all fitness levels that helps you keep up with the class" (Bootyfit participant).

Read more about the health and fitness classes Leah held for us on our blog post.

Lockdown Talks: Extended - Community Kōrero

G.I native Benji Timu - an entrepreneur and one of the founding members of Digital Storytelling Media Company No Six collaborated with HEART to unpack interesting topics in a series of four visual podcasts called the Lockdown Talks Extended that follows on from podcasts he created during lockdown. The aim of Lockdown Talks: Extended was to share opinions rather than give advice.

Following the release of the podcasts on social media HEART hosted community kōrero on these topics. Read our blog to see how these went.