Our story
We began as a concept of Neil McNaughton, who alongside others noted the gap in the provision of advocacy services within the Hutt Valley area. These consumers became known as the working committee who formed in 2000 to become the Hutt Valley Services Steering Group. These people included ex-Wellington Mental Health Consumers Union Manager, Mike Sukolski, Anne Stidworthy, Gary Platz, Donald Gaudin – Consumer Advisor Q-nique, and Beatrice McNaughton.
We needed an umbrella organisation to take responsibility for it, and Second Chance Enterprises stood up to the challenge. When a contract for Peer Support and Advocacy was secured, we opened the doors in 2002 where Peer Workers volunteered their time and worked in pairs.
The organisation continued to grow and evolve, and in 2008, left the umbrella of Second Chance Enterprises to achieve our dream of independence. Since then, we have undergone more changes to better meet the needs of members. We now provide peer support, advocacy, education and transitional housing services to people in the Wellington region.
We are proud to have been part of the community for over twenty years.
Our service is underpinned by recovery principles.
We have adopted the six key recovery principles provided by our funders. These were defined from a variety of sources (MHC 1998, Onken 2002, Anthony 2000) which attempt to capture the essence of the recovery approach:
Personhood:
Hope, individual uniqueness, respect, responsibility, developing a sense of meaning.
Basic needs:
A liveable income, safe and decent housing, healthcare and transportation.
Social connectedness:
Being connected with others in mutually supportive and beneficial ways.
Citizenship:
Engaging in meaningful activities that connect one to the community.
Empowerment:
Self-determining services, users gaining power and control over their lives through access to meaningful activities that connect one to the community.
Best practice culture:
Services based on best practice have positive, open culture that encourages ongoing training and development for their staff and service users.
Our Board
Board members are elected by members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for 12 months.
Our Board members are responsible for the corporate governance of Oasis Network Inc. and act in its best interests.
Oasis Network Inc. Board members are able to demonstrate a wide range of skills and experience in social housing management, accounting and finance, community welfare, property procurement, law, social policy development, asset management, information and technology, and HR management.
Our current board members are Cecelia Henderson (Chairperson), Lorraine Paaka (Deputy Chairperson), Romeo (Mel) Leaupepe (Treasurer), Peter Humphries (Board Member) and Recardo Bosch (Chief Executive Officer/Secretary).
