Spectrum Care

30/03/2026

Team colours, theme songs, an opening parade, and plenty of cheering from the sidelines. 👏

We recently joined the Hōhepa Olympics for the first time at West Wave Pool and Leisure Centre. Hōhepa Auckland is an organisation close to our own heart. They support people with intellectual disabilities through residential services, education, work opportunities and community life. They host this event each year to bring people together through sport and participation.

Tug of war, musical chairs, egg and spoon races, and plenty of other events… but the best part? Seeing everyone get behind their teams and give everything a go.

Thanks to Hōhepa for inviting us and to West Wave Pool and Leisure Centre for hosting.

Photos by Ignacio Navarro. 📸

18/03/2026

After being diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s in his early 40s, Andy felt his life slowly closing in.

The days got quieter.
The world got smaller.

Until he made a decision.

If life was going to close in around him, he was going to push it back open.

👉 Read Andy’s story:
https://kaikaranga.org.nz/news/andys-story-from-isolation-to-participation/

Shout out to our Choices in Community Living team and Kaikaranga for helping pave the path.

And to Andy, for holding the lantern.

Your supports is about what's important to you. That's why we take the time to listen, and work with you to make it happen.

09/03/2026

Tyson, along with other tāngata whaikaha we support, headed along to the Warriors’ season opener against the Roosters, thanks to tickets from the Warriors Community Foundation. 💙💚❤️

It was a big night at Go Media Stadium, with the One NZ Warriors kicking off the 2026 season with a 42–18 win.

Tyson even managed to grab a few snaps with legends, Chanel Harris-Tavita and James Fisher-Harris.

Ngā mihi to the Warriors Community Foundation for making experiences like this possible.

Up the WAHS! 🙌

04/03/2026

Support isn’t about doing things for someone.
It’s about refusing a world that decided what their life could be.

A new report from IHC New Zealand, 'From Data to Dignity 2026', lays out what life still looks like for many people with intellectual disabilities in Aotearoa.

Some of it is hard to read.

Across health, education, housing, employment and safety, the same pattern appears again and again.

People locked out of work. People living on incomes that barely cover the basics. People navigating systems that were never designed with them in mind.

These outcomes are often framed as personal circumstances. But they aren’t. They’re the result of how our systems have been built, and who they were built for.

But the report also shows something else.

When people have the right support, when environments are built with them in mind, when communities make room.

Things shift. Lives expand.

That’s the work.

Not deciding what someone’s life should look like. But refusing a world that decided for them.

🔎 Read the full report:
https://www.ihc.org.nz/get-involved/advocacy/from-data-to-dignity-2026

01/03/2026

Matt wrote a book about his superpower.

It’s called Multiple Sclerosis.

His friends Darleen, Jack, Kat, Keegan and Reegan illustrated it. They’re disabled too. With the support of Mikey, one of our Community Support Workers, they spent six months bringing it to life at Maranga, our Wellington vocational service.

And now they want to share it with you.

Because sometimes what the world calls a disability is a story worth rewriting.

24/02/2026

We honour the life of our beloved kaumātua, Matua Waitai Petera.

Matua Waitai was a gentle, humble, and giving presence within Spectrum Group. He held a deep love for our organisation and, in particular, for our tāngata whaikaha and kaimahi, always offering guidance, wisdom, and compassion.

During pōwhiri, the formal Māori ceremony of welcome, Matua Waitai often recited a tauparapara from Te Aupouri that speaks of a rope stretched out and fastened. For him, that rope was whanaungatanga: connection, belonging, and shared purpose. He worked to bind people together, so they felt seen and safe.

He carried the rope with care. Now it rests in our hands.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to Whaea Michelle and the Petera whānau.

Haere rā, e te rangatira. Moe mai rā i te rangimārie. 🕊️

23/02/2026

Sometimes accessible events aren’t easy to find.
So our people create them. 🏀

Last month, a member of our Spectrum Care whānau helped make basketball sessions happen in Tāmaki Makaurau. They were created for the people we support, with kaimahi alongside on the day.

With DJs, kai, music, and laughter... the vibes were on and the courts were buzzin’. Most importantly, it was a space where everyone could get involved in a way that worked for them.

17/02/2026

This is Dylan.
He loves fishing.
So he comes to work and teaches people how to fish.
Because sometimes that’s all support is.
Sharing what you love.

10/02/2026

Late last year, more than 1,350 athletes took part in the Special Olympics New Zealand National Summer Games in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Among them were people we support, travelling down to the South Island to compete, support their mates, and back themselves. For some, the trip alone is a big goal. New place, new routine, new crowds, early starts, long days, and still showing up.

These smiling faces are only some of the many who took part, but they all tell the same story. A national stage where you’re given the chance to be seen for what you’re capable of, not what the world thinks you are.

Massive congratulations to every athlete who took part. And a huge mihi to the support workers, coaches, friends, and whānau who brought the loudest cheers. 👏

02/02/2026

Meet Nara Latu, one of our Service Managers who looks after four homes. She joined us in 2021, bringing the kind of aroha that stays with people.

Being a leader in the disability sector means coming up against moments that change your sense of what matters.

This is the one Nara remembers most.

A 50th birthday.

The home was ready. Colourful decorations. Kai prepared. Invitations sent.

Then she saw him, the birthday boy, standing at the window.

“He kept staring at the gate. Then I saw tears running down his face. He knew his family wasn’t coming.”

It’s a moment she still carries every day. Not because they didn’t try their damned hardest to still give him the party he deserved, but because of what it revealed: the quiet grief some of the people we support live with, and a loneliness that doesn’t always get named.

“Some of our people don’t have anyone to hug them when they’re scared or tell them they’re loved. We are the only family that they have.”

Since that day, Nara has pushed for homes that feel like home. Not just warm and clean, but personal. She tells her team: “If you wouldn’t want to sit on the couch or sleep in the bed, we’ve still got work to do.”

Culture is part of that feeling. Not as decoration. As belonging.

She remembers one Pasifika Christmas Party when she taught two groups of staff to learn and perform cultural dances, one Samoan and one Tongan. They learned the steps, the words and their meaning. Costumes were handmade. And when they got up there, proud and a bit nervous, something shifted. The people we support weren’t just watching a performance. They were seeing themselves reflected in the faces of the people who show up for them every day.

That’s what Nara hopes for.

That if someone is ever left waiting at the window, looking for someone who doesn’t come, they’ll still have somewhere to turn.

They’ll turn back and know they’re home.

20/01/2026

We’re working out what we want to push hardest over the next few years, and it’s important that you, our community, have a say in it.

When we say, “good support”, we’re talking about support that’s easier to access, fits the person, and wraps around whānau, earlier where possible. Support that’s culturally grounded, not an afterthought, and consistent because there’s enough workforce capacity behind it.

But what do you think? Does this sound right? What does good support look like for you and your whānau? Let us know in the comments below. 💬

18/01/2026

From start to finish, tāngata whaikaha at our Aspirations Centre in Kumeū have built this wooden garden box. Planning, tool safety, problem-solving, working as a team, and seeing a project through from the first cut to the final touches.

Soon they will have the garden bed ready for its first seedlings, and yes, they’ll be planting and nurturing those themselves too. 🌱

He mihi nui to our awesome staff for sharing their knowledge along the way. This is just one example of the programmes happening every day: woodworking, music, jewellery making, dancing, cooking, and plenty more.