Referring to He Ao Hou

If you are engaged with a child, young person or their parent/caregiver and feel they may need more support, feel free to reach out to us for a confidential korero about referring them to us.

How to make a referral

Contact us on 027 270 5955 , send us an email at elizabeth@heaohou.org.nz or complete the form below and we will be in touch.

We will email you the referral form after we have talked with you. This is to ensure the referral is appropriate - we don’t want you to waste time completing the form if we aren’t the best place for the prospective whanau/tamariki/rangatahi.

All conversations about referrals are confidential.

What kinds of things could I refer for?

Anything! If there are concerns with tamariki or a whanau member you are engaged with that you think need more support, you can refer them to us.

For example:

Mental health
Health and wellbeing
Disability
Education
Advocacy
Issues at home, school or early childhood centre
Parenting
Custody
Behavioral issues

Who can I refer?

Anyone! We have no restrictions on ethnicity, culture, religion or any other characteristics - He Ao Hou is for everyone.

You can refer anyone to us that is connected to North Dunedin through their school or where they live. for example:

A child or young person enrolled at a school in North Dunedin - regardless of where they live.
A child or young person that lives in North Dunedin but is enrolled at a school outside of the area - they may have siblings at schools in North Dunedin too.
A caregiver that has tamariki or rangatahi at a school in North Dunedin that needs support - healthy parents raise healthy children.
A tertiary student that is either rangatahi themselves, or has tamariki or rangatahi of their own in need of support

Do I need consent to refer?

Yes. Consent is very important. Before you submit the referral form, you need consent from the parent or caregiver. We can explain this when we first speak with you.

You don’t need consent just to speak to us about possibly referring someone to us - in this korero we don’t ask for names or other identifying details.

Who can refer?

While anyone can refer a person to us, we encourage referrals to come from Principals, GPs or from the person needing support themselves.

An important thing to remember is that He Ao Hou doesn’t undertake the actual interventions to support the kinds of issues suggested here. We will work with the whanau to identify the best places for them to receive the support they need, and then make the right referrals. We’ll then stay with them to ensure they are getting what they need.

We refer whanau to any of the specialised organisations in Dunedin to work with them on their needs. We always gain consent from the person before we refer them to another service.

If we feel there isn’t somewhere that can help, or there are challenges in being accepted into services, or engaging with them etc., we’ll advocate, research, and support the whanau until we get them the assistance they need. This is one way we “identify the gaps” and seek to address them.

Referrals