A Pasifika hub designed to support its community during the Covid-19 pandemic is being praised for its warmth and dedication.
The hub is led by K’aute Pasifika in Hamilton and offers a wide range of health and social services.
The hub supports whānau who are currently isolating and offers testing stations, kai packs, vaccinations, hygiene packs, manaaki support for all household members who are isolating
Its approach includes the cultural values and beliefs of the person and uses the inter-related dimensions of spiritual, physical, mental and other which all contribute to the person’s wellbeing.
Waikato District Health Board HB Director Pacific Health Tamati Peni says engaging with diverse communities is crucial to understand the impacts of the pandemic.
“The DHB is privileged to build a meaningful relationship with our ethnic communities and support whānau, religious leaders and the sector to respond to the ongoing challenges of the pandemic.”
The Pasifika hub is one of 11 hubs, including an Ethnic Hub led by Hamilton Multicultural Services Trust.
To set up the hubs across Waikato, the DHB assessed its population to determine who has a higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19.
Risk factors include having an underlying medical condition, material deprivation and vaccination status while the priority populations include Pasifika and Māori.
SHAMA Ethnic Women’s Trust is part of the hub’s sector governance group which helped bring the hubs to life, and says the ethnic hub makes a “massive difference” for ethnic communities with family members living with underlying medical conditions.
“For many people in our communities, there is a lot of uncertainty about how Omicron or other variants could affect them in terms of their specific health concerns. The hub will allow these people to get ongoing support if they get Covid-19, but most importantly it considers what our communities need and what each individual needs,” Strategic Manager Silvana Erenchun Perez says.
Services include access to interpreters, support with transport, cultural or religious essentials.
“It has a big impact as communities feel confident that they can access support with a service that understands them.”
The exact number of people who will benefit from the ethnic hub is unknown, but Silvana says the team is working tirelessly to support those who are referred.
“We don’t know how many ethnic people live with medical conditions, but more than 20 percent of the people living in Hamilton are from ethnic communities, according to the last census. All of us will benefit from the hub, as it is a huge relief to know that there is an available service catering to our needs if we need it.”
