Te Korowai Hapori is Mercy Hospice’s community action approach to end-of-life care
Our mission
Strengthen community confidence and capacity to care for one another through different stages at end of life.
Te Korowai Hapori is generously supported by the Hugh Green Foundation and Selwyn foundation, which has worked alongside us to advocate for communities since 2023. With the Foundation’s support, we have developed partnerships with local marae, community groups, migrant and ethnic communities, government organisations, and health services. These partnerships begin with listening to and understanding what communities need.
We support communities to explore grief, death literacy, caregiving, and tangihanga practices. We also speak at local, national, and international forums, advocating for compassionate communities and community-led palliative care. Te Korowai Hapori builds on the foundations of Honohono Tātou Katoa (HTK), a three-year initiative that demonstrated the power of authentic community partnership and helped embed a public health approach at Mercy Hospice.
Our challenge Historically, communities cared for one another, and death, like birth, was seen as a natural part of life. Caring was understood to be both a human and a collective act. Today, health services can be difficult to navigate, care is often medicalised, and accessing support can be challenging. This can leave whānau feeling overwhelmed and isolated.
Our work
When invited we work with communities and their leaders to strengthen their communities’ confidence and capacity to care for one another throughout the end-of-life journey. We want to make end-of-life care accessible, culturally safe, and responsive to community needs. We work with communities that often have no, or little, access to palliative care, including Māori, Pacific peoples, migrant communities, and people experiencing isolation.
With the generous support of the Hugh Green Foundation and the Selwyn Foundation, Te Korowai Hapori, Mercy Hospice’s community action team, helps bridge the gap between communities and hospice services. This long-term commitment and investment is all about strengthening palliative care for communities, by communities.
Get involved
Explore some of our programmes, wānanga, and workshops:
Connectors for Carers Pilot Programme: A co-designed initiative delivered with the Working Together Group that strengthens support for informal caregivers by connecting them with trained community connectors, culturally responsive education, and peer support networks.
Ipu Pangarehu Wānanga: An experiential wānanga that uses the creation of handcrafted clay vessels to explore connections to whenua, cultural traditions, legacy, and meaningful conversations about death, dying, and preparing ahead.
Tangihanga Wānanga: Community-based wānanga that deepen understanding of tangihanga practices, build practical knowledge and skills, and encourage end of life planning through a te ao Māori lens.
Dying Matters Week with Honohono Tātou Katoa and Auckland Council Libraries: A collaborative community initiative that promotes death literacy, encourages open conversations about dying and grief, and strengthens compassionate communities through events, discussions, and accessible resources.
No One Dies Alone: A volunteer programme that provides companionship, comfort, and compassionate presence for care home residents receiving palliative and end of life care, ensuring no one faces death alone.
Advance Care Plan Workshops: Interactive workshops that support people to understand, discuss, and document their future health and end of life care wishes, empowering informed decision-making and communication with whānau and healthcare providers.
If you’re interested in working with us or finding out more about what we do, send us a message.