Renee, wife to David and proud māmā to Brook, Jayce, Carter, Beau, and Eden, brings both heart and experience to her new role. Her journey has been shaped by a deep commitment to community, creativity, and connection – values she has carried through her work in education, health, and business. Guided by kaupapa Māori principles and her own lived experience of early parenthood, Renee understands the challenges and the beauty of those first years, and is passionate about walking alongside whānau as they navigate them.

Speaking about her new role, Renee says, “I am honoured to step into this role and continue the incredible mahi that Hōkai Tahi is known for.  Having seen first-hand the profound difference that compassionate, wraparound care makes for whānau, I’m excited to work alongside our dedicated team, whose passion and commitment already make such a meaningful impact, as we continue providing these essential services to our community.
This kaupapa is deeply personal to me, and I look forward to building on the legacy of those who have led before me.”

Chris Martin, Chairperson of the Hōkai Tahi Board, says: “We’re really excited to have Renee Renata on board. She is strongly invested in the work Hōkai Tahi undertakes, has wonderful community relationships, and is passionate about supporting women in difficult circumstances. With an experienced background in both community and business roles, she brings skills and insights that will be an asset to our team of counsellors, support coordinators, and volunteers. Together they will ensure that whānau across the Wairarapa receive the best support during the pregnancy and the postnatal period.

Current Service Manager Rebecca Vergunst has taken our service to new heights in many ways and built on mahi of the previous managers with her policy and strategy skills. She has been an extremely dedicated advocate and has truly helped the service to grow and take on a confident strategic direction. We are so thankful for all that she has done for this service, and wish her all the very best in the exciting overseas adventures that her and her family now embark.”

A “dedicated” early childhood education practitioner is putting in the hard yards — 46,145 yards to be precise — to help raise money for a support service for new mums and their whānau.

Sian Paterson, who owns and operates early childhood centre Blue School in Greytown, would be running the iconic London Marathon on Sunday, April 27 in a bid to raise at least $5000 for Hōkai Tahi’s clinic in Featherston.

Hōkai Tahi opened in Masterton 2017 and offered support for all parents from conception to one year post-partum.

Paterson, being South Wairarapa-based, wanted to support the service’s newest clinic in Featherston, Susie Mackie, Paterson’s friend and supporter told Wairarapa Times-Age.

“Sian believes the service Hōkai Tahi offer is really important, and in particular the accessibility for South Wairarapa mums,” Mackie said. “Masterton is not that far away, but if you’re in Featherston it can be a barrier, especially if you’re in a vulnerable position or not doing so well.”

Paterson had done “a fair bit of training”, Mackie said, despite some setbacks.

“If she has to walk a little bit, that’s okay, because that’s not necessarily what it’s about. It’s about being there and the experience and sometimes in these events, magic can happen.”

Rebecca Vergunst, Hōkai Tahi’s service manager, said being able to direct the funds Paterson raised to the Featherston clinic would be “amazing”.

“The Featherston service is still quite new,” Vergunst said, “But we’re probably operating at full capacity now, which is really, really good.”

With a Featherston-based support coordinator and counsellor on board, the satellite clinic would soon be able to offer a group therapy course alongside its normal drop-in services, Vergunst said.

“This new course is really exciting,” she said. “It’s particularly for mums with symptoms of perinatal depression or anxiety, and it isn’t offered anywhere else in the region.”

The importance of services like those offered by Hōkai Tahi could not be underestimated, Vergunst said.

“Your world [as a new mum] becomes this little, tiny newborn, and sometimes it’s even hard just to get out of the house for a walk,” she said. “It’s such a consuming period, and it can become almost impossible to find some space for yourself and for your self-care.

“By being able to get out of the house and go talk to other mums who might also be struggling with the adjustment to motherhood and parenthood, and also just talk about some strategies about how to keep yourself well, is so important.”

Paterson’s contribution through embarking on one of the world’s most renowned endurance runs would help the Featherston service develop and respond to the needs of the community, Vergunst said.

“As our service has grown we’ve become more aware of certain needs within the community,’ she said. ”Our support has focused on the conception to birth stage, but in the last couple of years our scope has broadened to support all parents from conception to one year post-partum.“

To make a donation to Paterson’s London Marathon, visit https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/the-marathon-for-motherhood-running-the-london.

“On behalf of the Board, I want to share that our Service Manager, Rebecca, will be leaving Hōkai Tahi in September this year. While we will be sad to see her go, we fully support her decision to spend more time with her family overseas while her children are young. To ensure we find the best possible candidate and allow for a smooth transition, we are beginning the recruitment process now. We are deeply grateful for Rebecca’s dedication and contributions to Hōkai Tahi, and we look forward to celebrating her achievements before she departs.”

Service Manager Job Vacancy

Are you a passionate leader with a heart for improving the health and wellbeing of women and whānau? Do you thrive in a role that requires strong leadership, collaboration, and organisational excellence? If so, we invite you to apply for the role of Service Manager at Hōkai Tahi.

The Service Manager at Hōkai Tahi will oversee daily operations, ensuring the organisation’s financial and operational success while upholding its core values. Reporting to the Board of Trustees, this leadership role involves strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, team building, policy development, and service growth. The ideal candidate will have management experience in education, health, or community sectors, strong leadership and communication skills, cultural competency, and the ability to work independently. Flexibility, professionalism, and alignment with the mission of Hōkai Tahi is essential.

This role is 20hrs per week with flexible working arrangements.

Check out our job listing at Do Good Jobs.

If you would like to learn more about this role or request a job description, please email manager@hokaitahi.nz or Board Chair Chris Martin chris@waieggs.co.nz 

The closing date for this vacancy is 7th May, 2025.

Masterton: First Health and Wellness Center Lansdowne bathroom, Te Awhina Cameron Community House bathroom, front porch of Hōkai Tahi clinic, and UCOL Student Hub bathrooms.

Featherston: Outside Hōkai Tahi Featherston clinic.

More locations coming soon.

This is a question we get asked a lot. After loss, many support people go back to their day-to-day lives and presume the bereaved person has moved on too. But they won’t have – they are just as heart-broken, and often now left with little support. Here’s a few suggestions from Zoe Clarke-Coates, in her book The Baby Loss Guide.

1. Ask if the parents have named their baby, and if they have, talk about them by name, and refer to them in general conversation. It won’t upset them – it will show you care! Ask questions about their experience of birth/loss. Every time you sit and listen to a bereaved person’s story, you are giving them a real gift.

2. Find out what support they have, and that they have details of support available to them

3. Show that you are thinking of them: messages, cards, or gifts.

4. Make a note in your diary of the key anniversaries and reach out to the bereaved in the weeks before the date, on the date, and following it. It can be a tough time.

5. Offer practical help at home. Try, “Can I stock your freezer with ready-made meals? Can I come and vacuum, clean, or do your washing?” If the bereaved person has other children, offer to help take care of them or take them out for a playdate.

6. Offer physical touch if appropriate (and they want this!). Touch is important when offering compassion and empathy because it can make people feel heard and loved. Just holding a hand or hugging them can make them feel safer, grounded and cared for.

7. Arrange meetings/hangouts where they will feel at ease being real and don’t need to put on a brave-face. Be flexible with plans and make it clear you are fine with last minute changes or cancellation. Please also be mindful of holding more formal events and not inviting the bereaved, as this can cause hurt.

8. Be forgiving and patient. When journeying through grief, it can mean a person feels so overwhelmed and numb, they stop being thoughtful or kind. Please know this is not personal – it means they are crawling through life right now, and they are so overwhelmed with pain their typical responses to things are on hold.

Radio New Zealand Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan

Rebecca Vergunst was the winner of our Soundbite competition earlier this week, and in speaking with Jesse she also shared a bit about the incredible work she does. Rebecca is the service manager for Hōkai Tahi, a Wairarapa-based not-for-profit that supports women facing adverse circumstances with their pregnancy. She’s back to talk about what they do and the personal experiences that led her to Hōkai Tahi. Listen here.

Inspirational Communities with the Wairarapa Women’s Center

Rebecca joined Geraldine on Arrow FM to talk about Hōkai Tahi and the work they do in the Wairarapa Region. Listen in to hear 2023 highlights, what’s next, and some awesome music. Listen here. 

Registrations have opened for the Wairarapa’s first Baby Loss Support Group beginning on April 8th, 2024, 7.00pm – 9.00pm. The group will follow a 6-week program tailored to their needs, and will be held at the Hōkai Tahi offices at Hessey House, 21 Worksop Road, Masterton. The space is fully accessible and offers breakout spaces for participants needing time away from the group.

The support group will cover a range of topics such as grief and identity, physical and mental side effects, incorporating memories of their babies into daily life, expression through art, navigating relationships after loss, and handling comments and remarks from others.

The group is facilitated by a registered counsellor (Debbie Aporo) and Support Coordinator (Lorraine Goulton). Debbie is currently a Health and Addictions Counsellor at Pathways, and a Support Coordinator with Hōkai Tahi. Lorraine Goulton is also a Support Coordinator with Hōkai Tahi and is in her third year of a Bachelor of Counselling (she also has a Bachelor of Nursing, Dip. Counselling, and PGCert. Mental Health Nursing).

Debbie and Lorraine aim to provide a comfortable, empathetic, and safe space for parents to share their experiences and the lives of their babies.

“We want to provide a space to acknowledge and honour the memories of our babies that did not get to see the world – a place to share and grieve their loss without judgement,” says Debbie Aporo.

Lorraine Goulton says, “My hope is that we create a warm, safe, caring, inclusive, confidential environment where whanau share their stories and leave feeling believed, accepted, supported and embraced on their grief journey.”

“We recognise that everyone’s journey is very different, and welcome anyone who is grieving, no matter the reason their baby died, their age, or gestation. There is no right or wrong way to grieve – we invite you to come as you are into a space of empathy, acceptance, and aroha,” says Hōkai Tahi Service Manager Rebecca Vergunst.

“There are several baby loss support groups in a range of formats around New Zealand, but this is the first baby loss support group in the Wairarapa. We have taken inspiration and advice from other groups and experts such as Vicki Culling in setting up this group, says Rebecca Vergunst, Service Manager at Hōkai Tahi.

Each cohort will be capped at 10 participants to allow plenty of time for discussion and sharing. Hōkai Tahi plans to run the group several times a year.

Registrations are open until March 29th, 2024. The group is free, made possible by the generosity of funders and supporters.