Lifewise

Erika Vas completed her international field placement with the Lifewise Trust, in Tamaki, Aotearoa. The Lifewise Trust (Lifewise), Airedale Property Trust (APT), and Methodist Mission Northern (MMN) operate interdependently in order to work towards the vision of connected, just, and inclusive communities. Each Trust is dedicated to family and community resilience, from working with people and families directly, to providing financing and infrastructure which makes this work possible. As a student intern, Erika was involved in Housing First (HF) projects. She analyzed and interpreted documents to create briefing documents for government officials, collected, analyzed, and interpreted data gathered by the HF program in Auckland, with the goal of reporting how the program might be improved or developed, informing community service providers on the wants and needs of whānau, and reported on the realities of the health and wellness of whānau to external stakeholders, she completed research on IPS Supported Employment (Individual Placement Support), and documented the Kaupapa Māori / iwi-led model that is being used for the delivery of HF in Rotorua.