This week, the trust announced it would ring-fence $10million in funding over the next five years under its new Tamariki and Rangatahi Strategy.
Trust chairman Diccon Sim said the suite of funds would be invested in organisations and initiatives aimed at "raising resilience and increasing capacity among our region’s tamariki and rangatahi — especially those addressing disadvantage, discrimination, exclusion, and those from the priority communities identified in the trust’s new strategic plan".
The funding is divided into three branches — the Impact for Tamariki & Rangatahi Fund, which opens in April; the Tamariki & Rangatahi Sector Capability Fund, which opens in July; and the Rangatahi-led Fund, which opens in April next year.
Otago Community Trust chief executive Barbara Bridger said research commissioned by the trust had led to "valuable insights into how we may fund change and the potential of our youth into the future”.
This included the need to invest in community building and support structures for young people, which were not well supported by current funding models.
Mr Sim said the research had refreshed the trust’s strategic plan, including the new Tamariki and Rangatahi Strategy.
A dedicated community engagement adviser, Liz Harburg, had been employed to lead the strategy and work with the youth sector.
“This is an exciting move for the trust. We know that by investing in our tamariki and rangatahi now, we will see a significant impact on all our futures.”
Otago Youth Wellness Trust manager Claire Ramsay said the new funding would be "like gold" for the under-resourced youth sector in the region.
She was most excited about the capability fund, which related closely to the work OYWT and 10 other agencies had been doing through the Integrated Practitioner Accelerator training programme.
"Through this programme, the Otago Community Trust has funded us to create a community of care for the wider community."
The trust funding had set the challenge for organisations to find innovative ways to support the region’s tamariki as they grew, she said.
"At the moment, there are just not enough people working in the mental health space, and just helping to build confidence among young people.
"We are all seeing it — there are not enough resources — so we are thankful to the Otago Community Trust for the support it is providing for badly needed services."
Mirror Services director Deb Fraser said it was great to see "a serious amount of money" being prioritised for tamariki and rangatahi services, and also to see the foundation work done by the Otago Community Trust.
The challenge would be to find the best initiatives and match them to where the need was greatest, she said.
The duration of the funding would be important, as it could take time to develop and get new initiatives up and running, Ms Fraser said.
"It would be good to have an overall strategy, in terms of child and youth work, that everyone could be part of creating — so we can ensure the support reaches where it is most needed."
It was also important to increase cultural responsiveness, in terms of ensuring the needs of Maori and Pacific communities were being met, as well as those of the rainbow community.
"With all the social issues impacting on whanau at present, this funding could help to bring about multi-generational changes, which would be good to see," Ms Fraser said.
"It is very important to remember that, if tamariki and rangatahi are doing well, then their whanau are also doing well."
Methodist Mission Southern chief development officer Jimmy McLauchlan said the announcement was "very exciting", and there was a great balance across the three new funds.
-- brenda.harwood@thestar.co.nz
