Addiction
Waranga
Te Pou is a national centre for workforce and leadership development for the addiction workforce in New Zealand.
Commitment and collaboration
Te Pou works with organisations and people across the country and around the world to support the addiction workforce to reduce addiction-related harm.
We partner with sector groups – such as National Committee for Addiction Treatment (NCAT), Addiction Practitioners' Association Aotearoa-New Zealand (dapaanz), NZ Drug Foundation – DHB and NGO service providers, training and education providers, and researchers and experts.
Supporting innovation
We support innovation and work towards evidence-based workforce development solutions through a broad range of activities such as policy development, training programmes, boosting sector relationships and networking, resource development, research and competency development.
We place a strong emphasis on lived experience involvement.
Our vision
Our dedicated group of passionate people are committed to developing the addiction workforce.
Our vision is for a highly skilled, confident and competent workforce which, supported by a sound infrastructure, will provide accessible and effective services that reduce addiction-related harm and improve health for people with addiction issues and their whānau.
Lived experience, diversity and inclusion
Our work recognises and is underpinned by our obligations to Māori as identified in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It is informed and shaped by Māori and reflects Māori worldviews and perspectives. It promotes actions to achieve equitable health outcomes for Māori.
Also central to our work is our active commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion across the whole population. The commitment is formalised within Te Pou through our Kanorau Charter, which provides guiding principles for our work.
Importantly, our work is informed and co-designed by people with lived experience of accessing addiction services. People who have experienced addiction issues and gained wellbeing develop many skills, knowledge, talents and attributes through those experiences. Likewise, the peer workforce has a vital part to play in effectively supporting people and whānau accessing services.
Principles for Oranga
Principles for Oranga is intended to guide new ways of working together. This framework promotes shared understanding and principles for working together effectively to support oranga, regardless of our roles, organisations, professional backgrounds and contexts. The aim is to support tāngata whai ora and whānau, workforces, groups, organisations, communities and systems to reach beyond structural silos and grow shared approaches to address the wider determinants of oranga.
Principles for Oranga has been informed by national and international research and policy, and has been shaped by an Advisory group made up of people who represent a range of perspectives, roles, disciplines and cultures, including Māori leaders and people with lived experience.
Addiction Consumer Leadership Group
The Addiction Consumer Leadership Group supports Te Pou to respond to consumers/tāngata whai ora, and their whānau, to reduce addiction related harms. The Group provides strategic direction and support to the Te Pou peer project lead (addiction) to achieve the goals of the addiction consumer and peer workforce.
Addiction Nursing
Te Pou supports the development of addiction nursing expertise and recognises the specialist knowledge and skills they bring to the addiction treatment sector.
We do this through:
- holding an annual addiction nurses symposia, which raises the awareness of initiatives and encourages the development of leaders in the field
- supporting the addiction nurses advisory working group
- promoting the addiction nursing competency framework and progression along the nurse practitioner pathway.
Addiction Research
Te Pou supports the development of the addiction research workforce. This includes those working in dedicated research roles, students and academics, as well as practitioners and service providers who are engaged in embarking on or implementing research initiatives.
We do this through holding an annual National Addiction Research Symposium in collaboration with the University of Otago, Massey University, University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and Victoria University of Wellington.
