This month we caught up with Gina Giordani, programme lead for the Nōku te Ao: Like Minds Social Movement. In this interview, we get to know Gina a little bit and learn how her lived experiences have shaped her to advocate for others on their mental health and wellbeing journey.
Ko wai koe?
Kei te taha o tōku Pāpā, Ko Marotiri te Maunga, Ko Mangahauini te Awa, Ko Horouta te Waka, Ko Ngāti Porou te Iwi, Ko te Whānau a Ruataupare te Hapū, Ko Tuatini te Marae. Kei te taha o tōku Māmā, He uri au nō Ingarani, me Kotirana. Ko Georgina Giordani (Gina) tōku ingoa.
He Kaiwhakapiki Ora taku turanga mahi.
What is your mahi and what brought you to this space?
My name is Gina – I am a health promoter at the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and I programme to lead the Nōku te Ao: Like Minds Social Movement. This is a programme that helps resource communities to uphold the mana and the human rights of people with a lived or living experience of mental distress or illness. We are in the process of co-designing this programme with communities to understand what their needs are, that need advocating for. I came to work in this space due to my own lived experiences and the lived experiences of my whanau. I and a number of people in my whanau have a bipolar disorder diagnosis.
How do you think your lived experiences have helped you to create change within the Mental Health sector?
My father and grandmother spent time in our state mental institutions before those old hospitals were disestablished in favour of the current mental health system. I feel strongly about the intergenerational impact of these systems on people. People were left to languish-effectively incarcerated, rather than treated and I just want to ensure there is a better system for future generations that have mental distress experiences. I draw on my own experience to advocate for others. A big part of my experience has been around being disconnected from my Māori culture and rediscovering this at a later stage in my journey which is helping me with my well-being.
What (if any) kaupapa Māori practices helped you on your journey?
Nōku te Ao: Like Minds is centred on kaupapa Māori principles. These are Tino Rangitiratanga which is a core tenet of lived experience advocacy, people have a right to self-determine their futures. We value and honour mātauranga Māori in our work which is important in that it recognises that there is a range of knowledge that has value for the people we advocate on behalf. Taonga Tuku Iho is another principle for the programme and speaks to how we honour our cultural tikanga and kawa in our movement. It’s important that as Māori we recognise Whānau structures- the way that people relate and connect in this world. The social movement that we are building is about mana tāngata- the people’s power and collective strength that we will build to support the uplifting of the mana of our people. Working under these principles is improving my mahi on the daily because I was not brought up with a Te Ao Māori worldview and I am trying to gain and learn this as I approach my 40s.
How do you think the pandemic has affected lived experiences of Mental Health?
COVID-19 has created serious challenges for people with lived experience. There is a shortage of nurses which impacts people using hospitals and other clinical services. I also am very concerned for people that are now worried about leaving their homes. There is a lot of isolation in our communities. We need to continue to awhi and support our communities and encourage them to think about how they can experience some sun again. There are lots of ways we connect using technology now too- text, phone, zuitopa- let’s all do what we can to look after friends and whanau.
How can Māori Mental Health providers support you in your role and the wider Nōku Te Ao spaces?
Through our programme, we are really keen to understand what’s going on for people with lived experience and would relish any invitations to come and present on our kaupapa. We want to talk to service providers as well so we can understand what the needs of people are -trends and themes, and any training/education/support needs our services/kaimahi have around understanding our people with lived experience. We work closely with Te Rau Ora – Te Kete Pounamu who are developing a training programme around these needs as well – so we can help make these partnership links.
To connect with Gina, please email her – gina.giordani@mentalhealth.org.nz