For the little people and the big people

In 2014, a presentation from Police on family harm inspired Ranjna Patel to act.

Her idea – thinking outside the box - was to offer support to male perpetrators to prevent further harm to the 90-plus percent of women who would take their abusive partner back.

The result was Gandhi Nivas, an organisation offering free accommodation and counselling 24/7 to men temporarily removed from their home under a Police Safety Order (PSO), and concurrent support to their families.

Last week, a celebration was held at Parliament to celebrate a decade of success – three homes now open in Tāmaki Makaurau, 6310 families helped, and reoffending among users greatly reduced.

“Ranjna I hope you are proud because we’re very proud of you,” said Commissioner Richard Chambers, leading a sizeable Police presence at the celebration.

Rather than offering thanks on behalf of Police, he said, he would do so for “the men, the women and the boys and the girls” who have been helped and would be helped by Gandhi Nivas.

“Thank you for everything that you have done, that your team does…

“You have made a phenomenal difference for 10 years and I know that will continue.

“So from those out there who continue to struggle - on behalf of the little people and the big people - thank you.”

"Policing is tough and we can't do it on our own," said Commissioner Chambers.

The event in Parliament’s Legislative Chamber was hosted by Louise Upston, Minister for Social Development and Employment; Mark Mitchell, Minister for Police and Ethnic Communities; and Karen Chhour, Minister for the Reduction of Family and Sexual Violence. MP Melissa Lee acted as MC.

The Police presence included Assistant Commissioner Tusha Penny; DCE Iwi and Communities Pieri Munro; Superintendent Rakesh Naidoo; Inspector Natasha Allan, Manager Family Harm Prevention; and Senior Sergeant Vanessa Penrose, National Coordinator Family.

In the audience were representatives of a wide range of organisations and community partners including former Police recruit wing patrons – like Ranjna - Tā Kim Workman, Gregory Fortuin and Venkat Raman.

Ranjna outlined the history of Gandhi Nivas, starting with a presentation to the Counties Manukau South Asian Police Advisory Board by Rakesh in May 2014.

It included the revelation that four of 14 women killed in New Zealand were of South Asian descent – 29 percent of the fatalities coming from a community which was three percent of the population.

Just seven months later then-Superintendent John Tims opened the first Gandhi Nivas home, in Ōtāhuhu. This was followed in 2018 by homes in Te Atatū and Papakura.

The service quickly spread beyond the original South Asian focus – now 60 percent of clients are Māori or Pasifika, 16 percent European, 16 percent Indian, and the rest Asian, Middle Eastern and ‘others’.

“What started as a service for Indian men and their families has worked for all ethnicities,” said Ranjna.

Developments have been accompanied by robust research that revealed, for example, that men counselled through Gandhi Nivas were more than three times more likely to stay free of family harm offending than others. Of 32 men issued with PSOs in February 2017, just one reoffended.

A review of Police data from before and after men engaged with Gandhi Nivas showed 69 percent did not reoffend which, when applied across the 6310 client whānau, would represent 3786 fewer callouts for Police, Ranjna said.

“That’s another big impact considering that every callout is about one to three hours and about 50 percent of frontline police time is spent on a family harm callouts.”

Ranjna thanked Rakesh “for your constant support” from the beginning, and for his role as one of her “personal backstops and sounding boards” on the Gandhi Nivas Advisory Board. He was presented with a framed certificate, as were Gandhi Nivas team members.

She acknowledged other Police staff including Senior Sergeant Sharon Price, the “very zealous young Constable [now Sergeant] Gurpreet Arora”, then-Constable now-Sergeant Satvir Sen and Inspector Wati Chaplow for their support.

Ministers Karen Chhour, Mark Mitchell and Louise Upston.

The three Ministers spoke with passion on the theme as they congratulated Ranjna and Gandhi Nivas. “Often we give up on people and some people feel they don’t deserve a second chance," said Minister Chhour. "But often that second chance can make the biggest difference in their lives.”

Minister Mitchell drew on his experience on the policing front line. “The reality of this in my policing career was the houses where we saw children cowering under beds or hiding in wardrobes or clinging to a mother who’s knocked out and lying on the floor... you’re having a real impact on those families.”

Ten years is an amazing achievement, said Minister Upston: "But more importantly, it is the lives of the women and children who get to stay in their homes and their fathers who have a chance of going back to them, which I think is what we all want.”

Commissioner Chambers acknowledged his predecessors Mike Bush and Andy Coster – who was in the audience in his role as Secretary for Social Investment – for their leadership role.

He said he and they were beneficiaries of the work of community partners, notably as Police leaders in Tāmaki Makaurau along with the likes of Tusha, Assistant Commissioner Jill Rogers and John Tims who were all acknowledged by speakers for their support of Gandhi Nivas.

“Police leaders current and past – we love people like you," said Commissioner Chambers. "Policing is tough and we can’t do it on our own.

“It’s a credit to the relationships that we have - and Gandhi Nivas is one example of the community partnerships that make such a difference.”

He said family harm took its toll on police as human beings “because it’s some of the most complex work police officers deal with every day.

“When we have initiatives like Gandhi Nivas coming along to the rescue – not of police but the people it’s designed to support – that’s success. And Ranjna, thank you very, very much...”

On behalf of the little people and the big people.