Recently, my cousin moved in with me after I found out he was wracking up debt of $100/day in "emergency housing" aka a motel with broken facilities. He was facing a couple of charges in our justice system and had been made homeless as a result so my partner & I said stay with us

I called on some friends who are defence lawyers and asked for their advice. They helped me understand the charges, the process and the most mana-enhancing way forward. I then helped translate all that to my cousin.

My cousin is a smart guy but the language of the law is obtuse

My cousin and I decided to write a section 27 report. This is a report where the judge reads the history of the person that is being sentenced and what may have led to theme being there. It's the whakapapa of the person but also the whakapapa of colonisation + our justice system

I spoke with my cousin and my Aunty to write the report. I sat in on one of the kaupapa Māori counselling sessions that I had set up for my cousin. I wrote the report and I ran it by my partner who is a lawyer and my friend who is an architect of s27s then sent it in last week

Sentencing was this week & I just got the report from court. My cousin has been diverted away from prison into rehabilitative programmes & community work. Restorative justice outside the justice system & within whānau will also take place. This is what we wanted cos prison sucks

After reading the s27 report the judge said, "What [cousin's name] has done with [their] life, despite the difficult upbringing [they] had, is simply remarkable. I am giving [them] this chance to continue turning [their] life around."

It's not lost on me the only reason I was able to support my whānau in this way was because of the connections, relationships & knowledge that I have from the work that I do. What about the 100s or 1000s of whānau out there who don't have a cousin with the resources/access I do?

The only reason we could house my cousin in the first place is that my Pākehā parents in law gave my partner $50k towards the deposit on our house. There is no way I could have hosted my cousin in the same way if we were still flatting.

My cousin has been let down by government neglect of almost all of our systems: education, housing. And without serious intervention from us, it's almost certain he would have ended up in prison and been let down by our justice system too.

Now my cousin has found a place and started a business. He is continuing with the kaupapa Māori counsellor and I am committed to walking alongside my cousin in the next phase of the journey.

This is the kind of work that whānau can do for whānau when we are resourced to do so.

Abolish prisons. Fund Whānau Ora. Devolve decision making power to Māori for Māori. Fund Māori mental health. Support Māori aspirations. Support increased public housing. Abolish emergency housing fees etc