Compassionate
Communities

AOTEAROA HUI 2026

Date: 18–20 June 2026

Thursday: 9:00am–5:30pm (registration from 8:15am)
Friday: 9:00am–5:30 pm
Saturday: 9:00am–12:30pm

Registration fee:
$240 Earlybird (closes 15 May 2026)
$270 Standard registration

Registration includes morning and afternoon tea (Thursday and Friday) and lunch on Thursday.

Tai Timu, Tai Pari
Compassionate Communities Hui 2026

The 2026 hui is hosted by Cranford Hospice and Compassionate Communities Collective Hawke’s Bay to continue the kōrero on cultivating compassionate communities in Aotearoa.

The theme of the third national hui: Tai Timu, Tai Pari—the ebb and flow of tides – speaks to the rhythms of living, dying, caring and grieving and how, when the winds of change blow, we can care for one another with a Compassionate Communities approach.

We want to acknowledge the mahi that has been done in this space already.

In August 2024 Te Atawhai Aroha hosted the first hui and began the seeding of connections around the motu. Discussions began about how to connect at a national level.

In May 2025, Go with Grace hosted us in Whāngarei with their theme of “Building a village of support’. There the group came up with a name for a national Compassionate Communities network: Te Whare Aroha.

He tai timu, he tai pari; he hau kōtiti e pana ana. Ka huri te hapori, ka tū kaha i te ngaru o te aroha.

Ebbing tide, flowing tide, shifting winds. The community transforms and stands strong in the waves of compassion.

Tai Timu, Tai Pari teaches us that our communities live within constant rhythms of loss and renewal, stillness and movement, challenge and opportunity. As the winds of change move through our whānau, neighbourhoods, and systems, Compassionate Communities respond with alignment. We adjust our sails, strengthen our ties, and let the tides guide us toward collective wellbeing.

In this kaupapa, care flows like the incoming tide and rests like the outgoing. Change is neither feared nor ignored, it is embraced as a natural force that shapes how we show up for one another. Together, we honour the ebb and flow of people’s needs, recognising that compassion must be flexible, responsive, and deeply rooted in relationship. By moving with the winds and tides, we create a community where aroha, manaaki, and shared responsibility uplift us all.

Compassionate Communities Movement

The Compassionate Communities movement originated in Australia in 1999, inspired by the research work of Dr Allan Kellehear, a medical and public health sociologist. Compassionate Communities operate as part of a broader public health approach to supporting people at end of life, their families and carers. The concept is now international and growing here in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Compassionate Communities can be described as the naturally occurring networks of support in neighbourhoods and communities, surrounding those experiencing death, dying, caregiving, loss and bereavement —Dr Kellehear

Compassionate Communities Collective Hawke’s Bay

The Compassionate Communities Collective Hawke’s Bay is a newly formed, and still forming group of individuals and organisations who are committed to changing the conversations around death, dying, caring and grieving and bringing the Compassionate Communities concept to life here in Hawke’s Bay.

If you would like to join our meetings or join our mailing list please contact
Stephanie.Hutchinson@cranfordhospice.org.nz

2026 Tai Timu Tai Pari Programme Participants

Jacquie Kidd (Ngāpuhi), Professor of Māori Health & author: Liminal spaces, whakapapa and whānau in terminal cancer.

Wayne Naylor, CEO Hospice New Zealand: Bringing dying back into life; insights from dying reviews.

Bryce Sheedy, CEO Bay of Plenty Hospice: “Constant change is how we care”

Tess Moeke-Maxwell, PhD (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki; Ngāti Porou): Mate Whakaahuru: Māori Whānau Experiences of Assisted Dying in Aotearoa. Tess will share the results of her team’s research as well as the indigenous tools they created to help whānau understand assisted dying.

Steve Shaw, Funeral Director & End of Life Doula: The conversations we are not having— being guided by real experiences in funeral directing to meet the ebb and flow of grief.

Shelley Gilmartin: How the experience of widowhood inspired The After Club

Kristyl Neho, GM Maia Dreams: Compassionate Communities in Action: Arts, Wellbeing and Community Responses Following Cyclone Gabrielle. Presented with representatives from Hukarere Girls School and Omahu Primary.

Georgina Langdale, Ecotherapist and Hospice Spiritual Care Coordinator: A deep dive into the ways we can support people’s connections to the things that bring meaning and inspiration to their lives.

Alysha Macaulay End of Life Doula & Celebrant: Walking Home Together—the contribution of animal—assisted support and community connection can bring to the experience of terminal care (Co-presented by Moxy, the well-being pony).

Sue Haldane & Rebecca Ross: The Silent Patient—when the caring flows but doesn’t rest.

Dying Traditions: A multicultural panel sharing their respective practices and rituals.

Cultivating compassionate communities in your corner of Aotearoa is a chance for Te Atawhai Aroha, Honohono Tātou Katoa, Go with Grace and Cranford Hospice to share experiences and learnings, and endeavour to answer any questions from all attendees.

Performance

Warewaretia — a one woman show by Kristyl Neho (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahungunu) brings 19 characters to life in an intimate, raw and deeply human story about whānau, memory and love. “Alzheimer’s didn’t take just one life. It changed all of ours.”

Friday Afternoon Workshops

On Friday afternoon, we have a choice of four workshops, including one designed specifically for those working in hospice and palliative care settings who are interested in nurturing compassionate communities in their region.

When you register you will be asked to select your choice of workshop.

NODA: No-one Dies Alone

Hear NODA North Canterbury’s Deborah Hercock, and Rebecca Field of NODA Hawke’s Bay, share their respective journeys with this volunteer initiative and take some ideas back to your community.

Advance Care Plan: ACP PARTY

Come and experience the collective approach to completing (or at least starting) your ACP. With a vino in hand, and a doctor on hand to answer any curly questions, this is a chance to tackle your ACP with others in a friendly and convivial setting.

Sound Healing with Jenny Allen

A chance to rest and restore and balance your energy at the end of the day with this deep relaxation workshop.

Compassionate Communities and Palliative Care

This workshop is for those working in hospice and hospital palliative care to help explore how they might engage with the concept in their regions.

Facilitated by Sarah Dewes of Te Atawhai Aroha, Carol McAllum of Honohono Tātou Katoa, and Stephanie Hutchinson of Compassionate Communities Collective, Hawke’s Bay.