Summary of our EGL Hui 1: West Auckland April 2024 Posted by Posted by Michelle Abbas on 20 May 2024 Posted on: 20 May 2024

It was great to meet everyone who was able to attend the community hui in West Auckland recently hosted by SAMS where we began exploring Enabling Good Lives community leadership. 

We met with many people, including disabled people, families, deaf community, and providers in West Auckland.  

We talked about how leadership in the West Auckland community could help to shape up the Enabling Good Live approach and give choice and control to the community. In total, 112 people attended our hui’s and shared their ideas.

We visited:

• Deaf Club – 25 people
• Providers in association with NZDSN (New Zealand Disability Support Network) – 55 people
• One evening community Hui – 12 people
• One day time community hui – 20 people
• People First with a commitment to inclusive leadership and support for those with learning disabilities. 

The two-community huis, both in West Auckland, with a combined attendance of 32 people, reflects a strong community drive to explore EGL (Enabling Good Lives) Community Leadership. 

At the hui, we presented power points by TAMA and SAMS.

The West Auckland community's direct input has highlighted several common themes: 

• Enabling Good Lives (EGL) is about giving disabled people and whānau more control over their lives and the opportunity for community leadership to assist with future direction
• For the Deaf community, EGL leadership means being fully involved and having access to all areas of life, just like anyone else
• A strong interest in developing community leadership aligned with the Enabling Good Lives principles
• A deeper understanding of what this leadership involves, and the need for systemic change
• The need and want for a system that support people to have a better life, more choice and opportunities
• Interest in the possibilities of EGL community leadership in understanding what it could look like and mean for their community.
• Suggestion to consider defining the area to West Auckland

 NEXT STEPS:

1. We are gathering feedback from those who attended the hui to ensure we are supporting in a way that is meaningful.
2. We are hosting two ONLINE hui on 29 May 2024. These will be from 930am – 11am or 630pm to 8pm – more information to follow.
3. We are working to organise a second hui, where we will explore community leadership in depth. This will be from 10am-2pm on 26 June – venue to be confirmed.
4. We will also be available on 25 June for smaller education focused conversations.
5. Please email egl@sams.org.nz to register your interest in any of these events. There will be more information to follow.

As always, we are here for any questions and feedback.

With kindness,

The SAMS team