Supporting young people leaving care and youth justice.
Walking alongside rangatahi as they take their next step.
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Leaving care or youth justice can be one of the biggest transitions a young person will experience. Our Transition Kaimahi provide long-term, relationship-based support to help rangatahi build confidence, independence, and a strong foundation for the future.
Building confidence for adulthood.
For many young people, growing into adulthood comes with a network of people they can rely on. Parents, whānau, teachers, and mentors are often there to offer advice, practical support, or simply someone to call when life becomes difficult. For young people leaving care or youth justice custody, that support isn't always there.
Our Transition Kaimahi walk alongside rangatahi aged 15–25 as they navigate this important stage of life. We begin building relationships while statutory services are still involved, creating trust and consistency before those supports come to an end. As other services step back, we remain alongside the young person, providing a familiar and trusted connection during a time of significant change.
Support is shaped around each young person's goals and circumstances. That might mean finding stable housing, accessing healthcare, reconnecting with education, developing everyday life skills, navigating disability or addiction services, attending appointments or court, or simply having someone to advocate alongside them. Rather than making decisions for young people, we help them build the confidence, knowledge, and practical skills to make informed decisions for themselves.
Because Transition Support sits within Te Tahi Youth's wider integrated model, rangatahi can also access healthcare, counselling, Career & Training Support, youth development, and social work through one connected team. As confidence grows and independence develops, support gradually steps back, ensuring young people feel equipped to move forward with the skills, relationships, and stability they need for the future.
Impact numbers:
15
Young people supported by each Transition Kaimahi at any one time.
1,000+
Hours of advocacy and support provided last year.
47
Rangatahi mentored in the past year.
Outcomes:
Creating a different future.
When one young man was first referred through Youth Justice, his future appeared to be heading down a difficult path. Involvement with offending was escalating, opportunities were limited, and there were few positive influences in his life.
Although support was offered, he initially chose not to engage. Months later, he reconnected, ready to make changes and explore a different future for himself.
Together, he and his Transition Kaimahi focused on practical goals that built confidence and independence. He gained his learner and restricted driver licences, completed forklift training, secured employment, and began developing a clearer understanding of how his decisions impacted his future.
Today, he remains in employment, has continued building stability in his life, and is actively pursuing goals that once felt out of reach. His journey demonstrates the importance of persistence, trust, and providing opportunities for young people when they are ready to take them.