CAYAD Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland

Last week CAYAD hosted our third annual Thriving in Sport event to celebrate another year of the Sport and Alcohol Rōpū as well as to connect with new partners and discusses key themes and priorities for the new year.

Our day was opened with a mihi, and strengthened through waiata. The day's intentions were set with a recap of the rōpū's beginnings for new guests and highlighting our achievements in 2025.

We were privileged to hear from two incredible guest speakers, former Silver Fern and youth advocate Linda Vagana and the Director of the Centre for Addiction Research Prof. Antonia Lyons, both of whom were incredibly generous with their time, experience and wisdom.

Thank you also to all our partners at Te Whatu Ora, Alcohol Healthwatch and Sport Waitakere who supported the organisation and delivery on the day. And a huge thank you to all the guests who took the time and effort to join us on the day. It was an incredible opportunity to connect and reconnect and further some important discussions.

If you'd like to be involved in the Sport and Alcohol rōpū in 2026, please reach out to the CAYAD team.

Creative expression is an important mechanism for uplifting our mental, emotional and spiritual hauora - particularly for minority groups that may be experiencing compounding stress. This programme creates a unique space for gender diverse people to explore their creativity, learn from their peers, and establish positive connections to the wider trans and non-binary community.

We call it the Kaiwhakatere Program because the participants, school leavers up to age 35 years who identify as transgender and/or non-binary, are the navigators - steering their direction to a positive relationship with themselves and their identity through creativity and art making alongside creative professionals as well as tuakana/mentors from the trans community. It’s also a free opportunity! Sign up through the QR code!

Are you a transgender or non-binary person that uses cannabis? This one is for you! This is a collaboration project between CAYAD (Tāmaki Makaurau), Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri The New Zealand Drug Foundation, YouthLaw NZ, and Gender Minorities Aotearoa. We’re creating an online community space to share the connections between w**d and gender, alongside a resource hub to help you navigate legal challenges that may come with cannabis. We want to hear your thoughts, experiences and reflections about cannabis. You can share a story through writing or art. Will you share your story? www.queeringcannabis.nz

Last Friday, we hosted our second annual Thriving in Sport event at Go Media Stadium, Rarotonga Mt Smart. It was an incredible day with opportunities to hear from our inspiring speakers - Sione Faumuinā and Dr. Nathan Price, as well as for our guests to connect with and learn from one another. We came away with lots of shared values and kaupapa, as well as some great new ideas to continue exploring.

We extend our aroha and appreciation to everyone who shared their time and energy with us on Friday, both on the day and behind the scenes.

If you'd like more information on our Sport and Alcohol Rōpū, please get in touch with CAYAD.

Kia ora whānau! Join us on Saturday, August 31st for International Overdose Awareness Day on K Road in Tāmaki Makaurau to remember those we’ve lost, share kai and kōrero, and learn how to prevent, recognise and respond to overdoses. 🤍

There'll be art, performances and short films, as well as practical demonstrations on how to use fentanyl and nitazene test strips and naloxone.

Free, legal and confidential drug checking will be available across the road at ADIO needle exchange on East Street.

Drop in to Whakarei, formerly Matariki Hub, between 3pm and 7pm on Saturday 31st August. This event is open to all and we can't wait to see you!

If you can't make it, consider wearing purple on August 31st or decorating your home or business with purple to commemorate those lost to overdose. 💜

Meet Josephine - our latest storyteller for Pūrākau for Change!

Councillor Josephine Bartley has been been a strong advocate for the wellbeing of her community since long before she was elected as Councillor for the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward. She has seen the impacts of alcohol harm both as a community member and as a community leader and believes that change is most achievable when communities, local, and central government are able to work together. In 2022, Cr. Bartley introduced a Notice of Motion that led Auckland Council to a unanimous vote to publicly support alcohol harm minimisation legislation.

Pūrākau for Change is a storytelling project to share real-life stories of people who are passionate about reducing alcohol harm. You can check out Cr. Bartley's story at https://purakauforchange.wordpress.com/cr-josephine-bartleys-story/ and you can find more information from Cr. Bartley on at Councillor Josephine Bartley

We're really excited to be delivering these workshops in February. Send them through to any Rainbow young people that you know!

Meri kirihimete me te tau hou from your CAYAD Tāmaki Makaurau team! As we reach the end of 2023, we've been reflecting on the year gone. We're so grateful to have the opportunity to work with so many wonderful partners and collaborators across this kaupapa. Thank you to everyone who has shared their time, energy, mātauranga and aroha with us.

2023 has been a big and busy year, on top of our mahi we've also been: navigating big and little changes across our whānau, organisations and sector, committing hard to personal and professional development including leadership and tertiary courses, focusing on our hauora tinana and hinengaro (especially as we battled some of the nasty bugs floating around this winter and spring), taking the opportunity to travel to other countries and around Aotearoa and connecting with loved ones.

While we're looking forward to a summer break, we're excited to jump into 2024 with renewed energy and focus on the causes that matter to us, including upholding the values and principles of Te Tiriti, working towards equitable outcomes and opportunities for all, and supporting rangatahi to live in an world free from harm, discrimination and fear.

We wish everyone a happy, safe and festive holiday and we hope you spend your time in whatever way fills your cup.

Noho ora mai, CAYAD TM

Last week we facilitated the 'Thriving in Sport' hui at Eden Park Stadium- an amazing chance for partners from the Sport and Alcohol Rōpū to come together kanohi ki te kanohi. We heard from inspiring panel speakers from the sports community and explored opportunities for future action.

We want to extend our aroha and appreciation to everyone who shared their time and energy with us on Friday, and especially want to acknowledge our panel speakers Inga Gray, Pelenato Sakalia and John Miller for sharing their interesting and inspiring insights. We learnt that we share so many common values and hopes for this kaupapa and that there is no one way to work together to achieve our goals.

If you're interested to learn more about our Sport and Alcohol Rōpū please get in touch with CAYAD!