What is Hikitia? A breakdown of the service

From May through to October, we will be hiring staff for a new mental health and addiction service, Hikitia.

Hikitia is a collection of mental health and addictions services in the Waikato region across three prisons: Waikeria Prison, Tongariro Prison and Spring Hill Corrections Facility. It has been designed to help address the high number of prisoners with mental health and addictions issues and is the first of its kind in New Zealand.

With a strong multi-disciplinary approach, General Manager Hikitia Graham Holman says the service has been an opportunity to work beyond silos and address mental health and addictions more collaboratively.

The service is inspired by bringing together clinical expertise, custodial care and cultural support, all working to provide wrap-around mental health care.

Custodial care

Graham says that Corrections Officers working in the service will also play an important role in helping prisoners to receive the therapeutic care they need.

“Corrections Officers working in mental health spaces support a safe environment, but also are responsive to what’s in front of them in terms of mental distress and mental health needs.  Whether that’s through their interactions with the men, or how they support health professionals in their access to the men, their role is really important,” explains Graham.

Clinical Expertise

An Intervention Support Practice Team, made up of mental health nurses, psychologists, and other allied health professionals, will be key to the service. This team will be based in a purpose-built mental health unit at Waikeria Prison, called Te Wai O Pure, within the High Security Facility. They will provide clinical mental health care to prisoners across Waikato region, working alongside teams at Spring Hill Corrections Facility and Tongariro Prison.

Intervention and Support Practice teams already operate around the country, offering support to people identified as at-risk in terms of their mental distress.

“Intervention and Support Practice Teams within Hikitia will operate similarly, but with greater opportunity to work with cultural interventions,” says Graham.

“In general, a big part of what makes Intervention and Support teams effective is strong relationships – working in partnership with other teams, such as custodial and primary health, is important.

It’s also about having that clarity of your role – that you are going into prisons, with the support of your colleagues, to understand what is going on for the people we manage and what would be most helpful for them.

Speaking as a someone whose substantive role is in mental health nursing, it’s a real privilege to be in a role where you can be part of making a difference for someone.”

Cultural support

One of the most unique aspects of the Hikitia service is the strong partnership with mana whenua, which has been carried through in the design of the service.

Hikitia will deliver mental health and addiction services in a way that respects Māori cultural norms, so people in prison are better supported on their path to wellbeing.  This is important because Māori make up 52.6% of those in prison*.

“A Manager Māori Practice and Partnerships will sit alongside the mental health clinical manager,” says Graham.  “That manager will have a range of staff reporting to them, including Hikitia support brokers Māori, Hikitia Programme Facilitators and Kairuruku Hinengaro.

“We'll have a regional approach to our mental health and addiction service delivery that offers the men the opportunity to receive care in a way that supports them to be engaged in their own wellbeing.”

“The service will blend clinical expertise and cultural connection to improve mental health outcomes.” 

Improving people’s mental health is critical to helping them successfully take part in other rehabilitation and treatment programmes that address the cause of their offending.

*As at March 2025