When did you last need help?

Aiden | Tauranga

It took Aiden (Ngāti Maru) a long time to realise it was only him that could break the cycle of outcomes in his life. And now his life is on a new path.

“Coming up as a bad person to how I am now, it’s taken me a very long time. It’s been a very cold road.

I had a lot of people actually telling me that I needed a change. I had a lot of people telling me that I’m the problem. It took me a very long time to understand that I’m the problem. You know what I mean? But you live and you learn, you know? You kind of grow with things.

It actually took me getting locked away for a little bit to actually realise there’s actually better things out there, you know? I guess it’s just going through so much, going over the same circles so much. I wanted to break the circle. You got to break the chain at some point, you know what I mean?

The wairua is right up there. I got these ones [kids] to look out for, I’ve got something better to do with myself. You know what I mean? Everything’s starting to look up, as opposed to about a year ago, anyway.

Even a year ago I was pretty down and out. But, you know, look at it. I’ve got this young fulla with me. It’s a beautiful day out there. I’ve just been skimboarding, you know what I mean? So, yeah, enjoying the stomping ground. It’s good.”

Our question for kaikōrero this month was “when did you last need help?” We learned about the diverse demands on the lives of New Zealanders and the incredible support networks they rely on.