Successful youth reintegration service to end in Canterbury
Youth reintegration services at St John of God Waipuna will cease from 1 July 2025. This follows the Department of Corrections operational decision to conclude the Te Whare Hāpai Tangata youth rehabilitation programme in the Canterbury Region.
Friday 11 April 2025
St John of God Waipuna has delivered reintegration support for young people involved with the justice system since 2013. The programme utilises evidence-based experiential learning models to support rangatahi towards growth and development, which is the subject of an independent social impact assessment due to be published in 2025.
St John of God Waipuna partners with the Department of Corrections to deliver up to six months of reintegration support for youth engaged in youth rehabilitation programmes. This collaboration has resulted in an 85% completion rate for participants, thanks to the reintegration support. The community-based reintegration support has been shown to reduce serious reoffending among our participants.
The programme has evolved into a multi-partner coalition including the Department of Corrections, the Ministry of Social Development, philanthropic partner Te Rangatahi Tumanako Trust, and a range of Canterbury employers and educational institutions.
Rangatahi participating on the programme are also referred into a range of AOD, counselling, and parenting education services. Since 2021 Waipuna has worked in partnership with MSD to provide prosocial mentoring and support beyond the Corrections programme in the journey towards education and employment.
Click the image below to review the Waipuna Youth Reintegration Programme Impact Report.
For further inquiries, please contact George Anderson, General Manager Communications & Marketing on [email protected] or 021 244 9274.
