Pacific Northland Collective | Collective in Action

Made up of Tokotoko Solutions external, F45 Whangārei South external and education partners including Te Kamo High School, external the collective works alongside Pacific whānau facing interconnected challenges, recognising that employment, housing, education, transport and wellbeing are rarely separate issues. 

For one Pacific family currently being supported through the collective, the pressures were significant. Ten people were living within the household, including parents, children and extended family members. The family was navigating unemployment, overcrowded housing conditions, financial hardship, transport barriers, language challenges and concerns around education engagement.  

Rather than responding to each issue in isolation, the collective came together around the whole whānau, building a coordinated action plan focused on long-term stability and wellbeing. 

At the heart of the collective approach is Te Fono, the name chosen by the collective and represented through the symbol of the nautilus shell. The shell symbolises growth, navigation, resilience and interconnected pathways. 

Like the journey of Pacific whānau, the spiral represents continuous movement forward, with each stage building upon the last. Its structure reflects the collective nature of Te Fono, where different partners work together around the whānau to provide support, guidance and stability. 

Grounded in Pacific concepts of voyaging and collective strength, the nautilus also represents connection to people and place, cultural identity, shared responsibility, and the journey toward stronger futures for families and communities. 

For Te Fono, the nautilus reflects a model where no family journeys alone. 

Through a shared action plan, multiple providers began working alongside the family at the same time, building pathways toward employment, stability and long-term wellbeing while ensuring support remained culturally grounded and relationship-based. 

Tokotoko Solutions has been leading employment and financial stability support, helping adult family members prepare for work-ready programmes, strengthen CVs and job readiness skills, and explore employment pathways across local industries. The collective has also supported conversations around business aspirations within the household, including exploring mentoring and support for a family painting and flooring business idea. 

“Our role within the collective is to walk alongside whānau in their employment journey, while trusting that our partners are holding other parts of that journey,” says Lucy Samu of Tokotoko Solutions.  

“That shared approach creates consistency and stronger outcomes for families.” 

The family has additionally been connected into budgeting support, housing referrals and practical assistance helping remove barriers that had previously impacted employment opportunities and day-to-day stability. 

Education support has also been a key part of the collective response. Through education partners including Te Kamo High School and wider school networks, the collective has worked to ensure children within the household are enrolled, attending school and connected into learning environments that support both wellbeing and future pathways. 

Support has included helping remove barriers impacting school attendance and engagement, ensuring children within the household remain connected to education during periods of significant financial pressure.  

Alongside employment and education support, the wellbeing side of the collective response has focused on helping the family build healthier routines, and greater consistency across the household during a period of instability. 

Through F45 Whangārei South and wider collective support, the family has been encouraged to engage in practical wellbeing goals and routines designed to strengthen both physical and mental wellbeing over time. 

The collective has also worked together around wider stabilisation supports, including Healthy Homes referrals, housing advocacy, transport assistance and connections into additional community and government services where needed. 

While the family’s journey is still ongoing, early progress reflects the strength of a collective approach, one where providers work together alongside whānau, rather than around them. 

For the Pacific Northland Collective, Pasefika Proud support has helped strengthen collaboration between providers, allowing services to respond more effectively to the realities Pacific families are facing across Northland communities. 

By working collectively, partners are helping ensure families are not left to navigate complex systems alone, but are instead supported through culturally grounded relationships that build trust, stability and long-term pathways forward.