Ā mātau pukapuka ārahi / Our guiding documents

Te Tiriti o Waitangi Position Statement

We are an organisation grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We have made a strong commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes for Māori and whānau.  This is front and centre of who we are and what we do. 

We recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the legal instrument that allows Government to exercise kāwanatanga in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Through our Te Tiriti o Waitangi position statement, we pledge to: 

• Acknowledge the detrimental impact past transgressions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi have had on the wellbeing of Māori as tangata whenua, and the trauma that has been caused by alienation and racism.  
• Commit to doing no further harm to Māori as tangata whenua and to being an organisation grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  
• Support healing and the improvement of Māori mental health and wellbeing. 
• Act as authentic partners with tangata whenua through all aspects of our work.  
• Adopt Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the framework by which our decisions, actions, and deliverables will be regularly measured and assessed.

View our Te Tiriti o Waitangi Position Statement [PDF, 148 KB]

View our Te Tiriti o Waitangi Position Statement glossary  [PDF, 705 KB]

Lived Experience Position Statement

We are committed to being a genuine, courageous, and effective advocate for communities with lived experience of mental distress and addiction.

This includes people and groups who have their own, first-hand experience of distress, substance harm, harmful gambling, psychiatric diagnosis, addiction, using mental health or addiction supports or services, or experiencing barriers to accessing these supports and services when they are needed.

We have promised to uphold a ‘nothing about us, without us’ approach and to work together to transform the mental health and addiction system.

Our Lived Experience Position Statement outlines what we will do to uphold these commitments to lived experience communities.

We promise that, in all our work, we will prioritise the voices and interests of people who experience mental distress, substance harm, gambling harm or addiction. Through our Lived Experience Position Statement, we commit to doing this by:

• Privileging the experiences and aspirations of tāngata whaiora and tāngata mātau-ā-wheako Māori
• Amplifying the voices of people who have experienced loss, harm, or exclusion in the mental health and addiction system
• Monitoring the mental health and addiction system, and monitoring wellbeing, together with people with lived experience
• Ensuring that each project or focus area of our work involves people whose personal experiences directly relate to that project or focus area
• Valuing and using on ‘lived expertise’ across our work, including lived experience research, wisdom and leadership
• Prioritising our projects and focus areas based on their importance to people with lived experience

Click on the image below to view our Lived Experience Position Statement

[PDF, 1.2 MB]

Nau Mai te Ao 

Nau Mai te Ao sits behind our Lived Experience Position Statement, as a discussion document that shares how we have explored understanding, honouring, and working with lived experience across all of our work.

Nau Mai te Ao shares our views around understanding, honouring and working with lived experience, and is a resource both for Te Hiringa Mahara and for other mental health and addiction organisations. 

Read our Nau Mai te Ao discussion document [PDF, 4.8 MB]

Te Hiringa Mahara Strategy on a Page

We are the kaitiaki of mental health and wellbeing. Our role is to be the eyes and ears of people in Aotearoa, amplifying the voices of our communities. We are keeping watch on what is happening in our mental health and addiction systems, speaking up and bringing focus to areas where meaningful, long-term transformation can take place.  

Our vision: Tū Tangata Mauri ora – Thriving together

Our mission: Whakawāteatia e tātou he ara oranga – clearing pathways to wellbeing for all

Our strategic framework brings the key elements of our strategic plan into one place.  Our Pou Rama is standing strong, grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and shining bright on who we are, our areas of focus and what we do.  It is supported by our vision, our mission and our values.   

Click on the image below to view our strategy in a page in more detail.

[PDF, 365 KB]