Evolve Wellington Youth Service

Great relationships established at Evolve Wellington Youth Service

Evolve boasts a one-stop shop for youth with a GP, nurse, social worker, counsellors, drop-in centre and a team of Youth Service Workers (YSWs) from many cultures.

The high numbers of rangatahi Maori who use the health service reflects Evolve’s effort in building relationships with Maori agencies such as CART, Te Rakau and He Huarahi Tamariki.

Evolve has also worked directly with rangatahi Maori and early members of the famous ‘Hip Hop 101’ and kickboxing classes still visit.

Evolve’s aim to empower young people is typified by its Young Mother’s Group where core members are supported to help run the group.

In the past, Evolve has struggled to recruit and retain Maori staff, so Robert Rangi (Ngati Porou, Ngati Oneone) is one of its success stories.

Robert is 22 years old and lives in Porirua with his partner and two sons. Robert’s previous work experience included rubbish collection, fruit picking and a stint at Porirua Library. At 18 years old, Robert was prospected to play basketball in the United States. Homesickness eventually brought him home and he was referred to Evolve by Partners Porirua when he expressed an interest in youth work.

After surviving the five-member interview panel, which included two YSWs, Robert has been a YSW himself for over a year. He has noticed that Wellington operates differently to Porirua with a greater cultural mix and particularly more Pakeha.

A key feature of Evolve, Robert says, is that, “we always have a say. It’s not just token.”

When asked what he enjoys most about the job, Robert says he can “help young people …and make friendships with people from different cultures.”

And would he change anything? “It would be better if I could work full-time, I’m only here two days a week.”