Samoan brother and sister, Vendor Faafuata and Raecil Pati are housing support workers at Auckland’s Health, Housing and Social Services provider, Kāhui Tū Kaha. They are both passionate about engaging with people living on the streets and getting them into stable accommodation.
“Putting a roof over someone’s head is just part of the goal,” the couple agree. “There are also complex physiological, emotional and social needs involved.”
Brother and sister Apprenticeship graduates Vendor Faafuata and Raecil Pati with Careerforce Apprenticeship Advisor, Joel Ali (middle)
To help them better understand and support their tangata (clients), Vendor and Raecil set out on a qualification pathway to upskills themselves so they could better make a real difference for their tangata.
Earlier this year Vendor and Raecil proudly completed their Apprenticeship in Mental Health and Addictions Support with the support of work-based learning provider, Careerforce. The apprenticeship is an 18-month work-based programme delivered in the workplace, with the support of the employer and Careerforce.
“Our main goal is to engage with those living on the streets and first get them into stable accommodation,” says Vendor. “At Kāhui Tū Kaha we have emergency housing, transitionary housing and permanent housing.
“Only then can we support them with wrap around services, such as getting them onto the social housing register, assisting them with work and income, employment issues, budgeting.
“We meet our people on the streets. We might visit them four or five times over a span of months. At first, they don’t want to go anywhere. We build a rapport with them, their mind changes and they trust us a little bit more. Only then are they open to changing their circumstances. We can make a change in a person’s life and that is what makes it all worth it.”
“Being able to pick people off the streets who are willing to take our support and give them shelter, somewhere to lay their heads is what keeps us going.”
Vendor previously worked at the Samoan radio station until his role was made redundant during COVID. A friend referred him to Kāhui Tū Kaha.
Raecil had a Certificate in Social Work under her belt and was 2 years into a 4-year bachelor’s degree in social work when she needed to step away to make some money.
Seeing her brother land what was her dream job, she was able to follow his lead.
“One of the things I found very helpful in the apprenticeship,” says Raecil, “was the module where we learnt about mental health disorders and how to deal with trauma and how to deescalate situations.”
“Learning about networking with other services and organisations and how it could benefit tangata also came in really useful,” says Vendor. “In the programme, we had to research these organisations and I was able to apply it to my tangata, when referring services.”
As part of the Apprenticeship Programme, Careerforce assigns an Apprenticeship Advisor to each learner to provide pastoral care and support. Apprenticeship Adviser Joel Ali was assigned to both Raecil and Vendor.
“Joel was very approachable and always contactable,” says Raecil. “For things that we found challenging, he would break them down. He also pointed out different resources that we could use.”
“The biggest thing for me,” says Vendor, “was having Joel reword the questions and explain it in a way that was relatable to the housing role that I do which was massive. The support from Joel was awesome. We also video recorded our conversations, a really useful tool to be able to reflect back.”
For Raecil, completing the Level 4 apprenticeship has given her a kick start and the push she needed to complete her last 2 years of the degree. “It’s good to keep the brain working, and I like the idea of being able to work and study.”
“Completing the Level 4 has made me more open to a bit more study,” says Vendor. “I have been in discussions with our ops manager who is encouraging me to look at doing a degree.”
“For people thinking about doing the Level 4 apprenticeship, grab the opportunity with both hands. It’s a great head start into understanding the mental health world, especially if you are wanting to do more advanced levels of study in mental health and addictions as well. It’s good to have a better understanding of mental health, what it is, why it’s there, why it happens, how to deal with it, and how to support others,” says Raecil.
Vendor adds, “Being able to continue working and have an income, and also get a qualification is also a great reason to recommend people to complete the apprenticeship programme. It allows flexibility in terms of being able to do studies outside work and during work and I would encourage people to join the study groups and discuss modules with others.”
For more information about the Careerforce Apprenticeship in Mental Health and Addiction Support, contact work-based training provider Careerforce. Workplaces may qualify for apprenticeship boost funding.