The Wairarapa Community Networks coordinates three local community networks in Masterton, Carterton and South Wairarapa. We enable cross-specialisation connections both locally and regionally.

Support from Trust House provided much needed resourcing to create regular opportunities for people working in our communities to make useful connections; promote what they do; explore where they might work with others; and to build capability through sharing wisdom, information and resources.

We provide a range of forums such as meetings, newsletters, and a closed Facebook group. We do this because connections, peer support and sharing of wisdom and resources is critical to achieving wanted outcomes in an increasingly complex and dynamic social and community sector landscape. Our work ensures critical broad cross-specialisation connections are maintained and supports community and social sector providers to remain focused on their core business.

This year, in addition to our regular forums, support from Trust House enabled us to begin addressing common concerns being voiced within our forums.

Over the past year, for example, we’ve heard lots of discussion among social service providers and others working in Wairarapa communities that indicate possible issues with the availability of community-based social work across the region.

We wanted to take the conversation to the next step and we are now working with several social service providers to map social work provision in the region, to gather, analyse, and summarise local wisdom about gaps and needs –  information which will then be used a basis for discussions to co-develop solutions.

Contact, Kara Pennington, Wairarapa Community Networks, 022 586 9528 kara@wcn.org.nz