Reflecting on a year of positive impact in the wellbeing space

As Mental Health Awareness Month ends, Auckland Council’s Healthy Families South Auckland is reflecting on a year of positive impact in the wellbeing space. Over the past 12 months, the team has been working alongside schools, whānau and community partners to strengthen the systems that support mental wellbeing for rangatahi. Such work is important as […]

Local Government: The critical connection to a healthier and happier Auckland

In the upcoming local elections, Aucklanders will decide who will sit at the decision-making table of Auckland Council and across the city’s 21 local boards for the next three years. While national politics often gets the spotlight, it’s local government that shapes many of the day-to-day realities that affect community wellbeing. From the safety of […]

Opinion: From food insecurity to food sovereignty in Aotearoa

By Julio Bin, Healthy Families South Auckland/Auckland Council. Aotearoa New Zealand produces enough kai to feed more than six times our population. We feed tens of millions overseas; however, here at home far too many people struggle to access enough food, let alone quality, culturally appropriate healthy kai. Data recently published by The Salvation Army […]

Reconnecting to kai and whenua

This kaupapa is deeply personal for Ngāti Tamaoho Charitable Trust’s CEO Matekino Marshall who sees the lack of good food in South Auckland as a problem when it comes to not only food security but the overall wellbeing of whānau in the area.

A look at the first three months of 2025 with Healthy Families South Auckland

Ray joins us as Lead Systems Innovator, bringing extensive experience in strategic leadership and stakeholder engagement, particularly in Pacific health. His recent work with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples saw him play a key role in the Government’s response and apology for the Dawn Raids, demonstrating his deep connection to the South Auckland community.

A year in review – Healthy Families South Auckland (Auckland Council)

In 2024, Healthy Families South Auckland continued its journey of fostering community-led health and wellbeing initiatives, but now as part of Auckland Council’s Community Impact Unit. A new chapter In late 2023, as part of a restructure within Auckland Council, HFSA relocated from The Southern Initiative to the Community Impact Unit. The Community Impact Unit […]

Community and Council connect in Māngere

Healthy Families South Auckland has hosted Auckland Council’s Community Impact Unit at the Cook Island Development Agency New Zealand (CIDANZ) in Māngere this month. The Community Impact Unit is made up of eight teams, including Healthy Families South Auckland, that work with communities across Tāmaki Makaurau to support systems change, innovation, investments, Pasifika, library access, […]

Collaborative effort for new community initiative

Kia ora Te Whānau is a new initiative reimagining what a well-being community hub could look like in South Auckland if created in partnership between local government and whānau. A working group of staff from multiple Auckland Council teams and services has spent much of the year talking with whānau and getting an understanding of […]