Mangere East ACCESS Trust Annual Report, 2016
Mangere East Community Centre
372 Massey Road, Mangere East
Two thousand and sixteen saw significant and exciting growth and community engagement for the Mangere East Community Centre (MECC). New developments and enhanced relationships have contributed to building a more collaborative and responsive community centre and service where people of all ages and backgrounds can come together to connect, learn and celebrate.
2016 at a glance:
Mangere East ACCESS Trust employed a staff of 6 full-time, and 7 part-time and a team of regular volunteers. We worked closely with a number of service providers and community organisations including Ohomairangi Trust, English Language Partners (ELP), Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT), Adult and Community Education (ACE), Out of School Care Network (OSCN), Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society (PARS).
We host, on average, over 240 people per day (across seven days) through a wide variety of activities.
Adult and Community Education classes have been running for 20 years continue to grow and adapt in response to the current needs of the community. For example, in 2016 we learned that our community in Mangere need extra support through the Drivers Licensing journey, so, we expanded and enhanced our drivers licence support programme to include restricted and full licence workshops, up-skilled our tutors and now have a community car for practical lessons! We were approached by members of the local migrant and refugee community to run an ethnic craft class which is growing in popularity - they are also now in the throws of setting up an ethnic food/ craft stall at local events. Our new community sewing class has tripled in size and now runs a class in the day and one at night and also at the local primary school for kids at Mangere East Primary.
We are currently limited by our facility and operate at full–capacity most days, as well as highlighting the need for more adequate community space, this also indicates to us that our responsiveness and service provision/ delivery as a community centre is highly relevant to the needs and aspirations of our community.
Our close partners, Ohomairangi Trust, coordinate and run a thriving Parenting HUB that fills our centre 3 days a week with local families learning new and effective whānau-building techniques promoting a safer, healthier and better-connected community.
Mangere East Out of School Care services turn 20 in 2017! We currently boast a roll of over 60 families and our staff are experts in quality and engaging childcare provision.
Community advocacy and campaigning for social justice continues to build awareness and momentum. Our staff and partners actively support efforts to reduce harm from alcohol, especially alcohol-related harm experienced by young people in our community, as well as campaigns for healthy communities, warm homes, living wage, protecting our libraries, protecting Ihumatao, and opposing motorways through our neighbourhood. Through innovative and continuous engagement with diverse groups in our community we feel we have a unique understanding of the needs of our local community.
This has lead to an analysis of community needs and available community spaces through which we have found that there is a pressing need to develop community facilities within the Mangere East Community HUB. Mangere East ACCESS Trust is part of a group of local organisations and individuals driving this exciting development. The Mangere East Community Centre Feasibility Report (by Visitor Solutions) is due to be completed in early 2017.
What’s new?
In 2016, we were gifted the editorship of a locally loved community magazine the '275 Times', started by friends of the centre, Jo and Justin Latif. We have since continued to share the positive stories and events of Mangere through the medium of print and online media and use this platform to inspire young journalists as an opportunity to learn (through our regular free citizen journalist workshops) and contribute to the magazine.
With the growth in service provision we have established new roles and employed 3 new staff to look after transport (community bus charters), community events and the production of the 275 Times community magazine.
We also look forward to opening our very own Community Cafe in 2017, providing healthy food options, training & employment opportunities as well as introducing an exciting social enterprise the will seek to benefit and celebrate the diverse community of Mangere East.
Community Events:
The Mangere East Cultural Festival and Mangere East Festival events continue to draw good crowds of local people from diverse backgrounds to celebrate our unique community. We meaningfully engaged with over 5,000 people through these two events providing opportunity for learning, celebrating and connecting with others from M
The Matariki community celebration at the Mangere East Hall was another event highlight, involving an evening of art, poetry, and culture, education, entertainment and kai. Working with the local Mangere East Business Association, schools, Kohanga, artists, community and cultural groups we coordinated a free community event attracting hundreds of people, sharing a meal together and learning about the significance of Matariki in a historical, contemporary and local context. We've already secured backing and participatory interest from more schools and community groups for the 2017 Matariki event.
Into the Future, 2017
With support from a MSD-approved mentor we are assessing the capacity and capability of our organisation in light of the growing demand on services and operations.
We are working in collaboration with a number of other community organisations and groups to advance efforts to develop the Mangere East Community Hub. In 2015 this project was a top priority for the Mangere Otahuhu Local Board who commissioned a needs analysis study looking at community needs and use of community space in Mangere/ Mangere East. This report supports community aspirations for hub development and our collaborative group is in the process of approaching funders to drive this project forward.
New initiatives include mobile community café, new play-ground, digital-hub, development of parenting hub, more arts and crafts space and projects, and development of garden club.
"I moved to New Zealand not knowing any English, I was in that situation for 40 years until I came here [to literacy classes at the Mangere East Community Centre]. Now I work in the courts writing reports for lawyers and judges. I thought I was too old to learn, you're never too old to learn" - Literacy Student.
“I don’t know how I can show others how much the fathers programme has meant to me. It gave me hope."
“I share with others what has changed for my son because I did the course. [Parents] might be less threatened if we share the impact on our children.”
372 Massey Road, Mangere East
Two thousand and sixteen saw significant and exciting growth and community engagement for the Mangere East Community Centre (MECC). New developments and enhanced relationships have contributed to building a more collaborative and responsive community centre and service where people of all ages and backgrounds can come together to connect, learn and celebrate.
2016 at a glance:
Mangere East ACCESS Trust employed a staff of 6 full-time, and 7 part-time and a team of regular volunteers. We worked closely with a number of service providers and community organisations including Ohomairangi Trust, English Language Partners (ELP), Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT), Adult and Community Education (ACE), Out of School Care Network (OSCN), Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society (PARS).
We host, on average, over 240 people per day (across seven days) through a wide variety of activities.
Adult and Community Education classes have been running for 20 years continue to grow and adapt in response to the current needs of the community. For example, in 2016 we learned that our community in Mangere need extra support through the Drivers Licensing journey, so, we expanded and enhanced our drivers licence support programme to include restricted and full licence workshops, up-skilled our tutors and now have a community car for practical lessons! We were approached by members of the local migrant and refugee community to run an ethnic craft class which is growing in popularity - they are also now in the throws of setting up an ethnic food/ craft stall at local events. Our new community sewing class has tripled in size and now runs a class in the day and one at night and also at the local primary school for kids at Mangere East Primary.
We are currently limited by our facility and operate at full–capacity most days, as well as highlighting the need for more adequate community space, this also indicates to us that our responsiveness and service provision/ delivery as a community centre is highly relevant to the needs and aspirations of our community.
Our close partners, Ohomairangi Trust, coordinate and run a thriving Parenting HUB that fills our centre 3 days a week with local families learning new and effective whānau-building techniques promoting a safer, healthier and better-connected community.
Mangere East Out of School Care services turn 20 in 2017! We currently boast a roll of over 60 families and our staff are experts in quality and engaging childcare provision.
Community advocacy and campaigning for social justice continues to build awareness and momentum. Our staff and partners actively support efforts to reduce harm from alcohol, especially alcohol-related harm experienced by young people in our community, as well as campaigns for healthy communities, warm homes, living wage, protecting our libraries, protecting Ihumatao, and opposing motorways through our neighbourhood. Through innovative and continuous engagement with diverse groups in our community we feel we have a unique understanding of the needs of our local community.
This has lead to an analysis of community needs and available community spaces through which we have found that there is a pressing need to develop community facilities within the Mangere East Community HUB. Mangere East ACCESS Trust is part of a group of local organisations and individuals driving this exciting development. The Mangere East Community Centre Feasibility Report (by Visitor Solutions) is due to be completed in early 2017.
What’s new?
In 2016, we were gifted the editorship of a locally loved community magazine the '275 Times', started by friends of the centre, Jo and Justin Latif. We have since continued to share the positive stories and events of Mangere through the medium of print and online media and use this platform to inspire young journalists as an opportunity to learn (through our regular free citizen journalist workshops) and contribute to the magazine.
With the growth in service provision we have established new roles and employed 3 new staff to look after transport (community bus charters), community events and the production of the 275 Times community magazine.
We also look forward to opening our very own Community Cafe in 2017, providing healthy food options, training & employment opportunities as well as introducing an exciting social enterprise the will seek to benefit and celebrate the diverse community of Mangere East.
Community Events:
The Mangere East Cultural Festival and Mangere East Festival events continue to draw good crowds of local people from diverse backgrounds to celebrate our unique community. We meaningfully engaged with over 5,000 people through these two events providing opportunity for learning, celebrating and connecting with others from M
The Matariki community celebration at the Mangere East Hall was another event highlight, involving an evening of art, poetry, and culture, education, entertainment and kai. Working with the local Mangere East Business Association, schools, Kohanga, artists, community and cultural groups we coordinated a free community event attracting hundreds of people, sharing a meal together and learning about the significance of Matariki in a historical, contemporary and local context. We've already secured backing and participatory interest from more schools and community groups for the 2017 Matariki event.
Into the Future, 2017
With support from a MSD-approved mentor we are assessing the capacity and capability of our organisation in light of the growing demand on services and operations.
We are working in collaboration with a number of other community organisations and groups to advance efforts to develop the Mangere East Community Hub. In 2015 this project was a top priority for the Mangere Otahuhu Local Board who commissioned a needs analysis study looking at community needs and use of community space in Mangere/ Mangere East. This report supports community aspirations for hub development and our collaborative group is in the process of approaching funders to drive this project forward.
New initiatives include mobile community café, new play-ground, digital-hub, development of parenting hub, more arts and crafts space and projects, and development of garden club.
"I moved to New Zealand not knowing any English, I was in that situation for 40 years until I came here [to literacy classes at the Mangere East Community Centre]. Now I work in the courts writing reports for lawyers and judges. I thought I was too old to learn, you're never too old to learn" - Literacy Student.
“I don’t know how I can show others how much the fathers programme has meant to me. It gave me hope."
“I share with others what has changed for my son because I did the course. [Parents] might be less threatened if we share the impact on our children.”