Home Ground creates space for women in the justice system to pause, nurture hope, activate social change and create better lives for themselves and future generations. On a Home Ground project, artists (inside and outside of prison) make creative works using dance, performance, photography, writing, painting and music to address the issues women and whānau face in the justice system. Take the Space This audio journey has been crafted with love, by the Home Ground Collective. We created this podcast to control our own narrative, to tell our own stories, to be who we are on our own terms. Each episode you will hear more about the work we do and through our voices and collective learning, you can help to change the shape of the justice system – for the better. Episode 1: The House That Home Ground Built This first episode sets the tone for the stories we are going to share. It is about the house that Home Ground has built over the last five years, we introduce some of our core crew and what we set out to achieve with this audio journey. Most importantly we talk about how we have used creativity to rebuild our identities, and how we have survived and thrived as wahine, mama’s, aunties and artists. Episode 2: Finding My Why In this episode our amazing Plant Mama, Te Aue, talks about the journey of ‘Finding My Why’ when you are in prison – what do you hold onto to remind yourself what matters? What happens when you go home? How do you find your motivation to keep going with your good life? Te Aue has been working with us for four years, and as well as beautiful visual arts she is a motivational speaker! Listen up – she shares all her wisdom through the strength of lived experience. Mauri Ora! Episode 3: Nature As A Healer This episode we hear from Super Narni – our incredible collaborator and creator, Narni inspires us all with her healing powers and bravery. A talented weaver of harakeke and dream catchers, Narni has been working with us for four years. A gentle warning that this episode deals with grief. Dive into this episode as an audio listening experience, she has recorded sound in spaces that she loves, that nurture her and her whānau, while sharing her creative writing. Call to Action Our call to action this week is to go out and explore the sounds in nature all around you, find that magic space, the sea, the wind, the trees, and sit, collect the sound and breathe….. ✨✨✨find your space, find your magic ✨✨✨ Episode 4: Community, Collaboration and Kotahitanga In this episode we are talking about community, collaborations and the many different parts to the creative process. It takes a community to build a community. Everything Home Ground achieves is because of the many hands, minds and hearts that bring it all together. We believe that, in collaborating with each other, artists, participants, organisations and partners – Home Ground becomes what it needs to be. Sharing our stories, understanding our collective wisdom, building community, collaborating together, we reach the goal of kotahitanga. Episode 5: Programmes & Promises – Who really gets a chance? In this episode, we talk to two warrior wāhine who share their lived experiences of doing time together and navigating the immense challenges of reintegration after release. Their kōrero is raw and real—unpacking why healing and change aren’t simply boxes to tick, and how the only consistencies in prison are the inconsistencies which deepen frustration and reinforce systemic trauma many carry long before they ever reach the prison gates. Reflecting on the challenges of accessing support behind the wire, their experiences highlight the empowering ability of the creative arts and the importance of programmes that foster real, lasting positive change. It takes incredible strength to challenge a system that elicits trauma rather than healing—and that strength shines through in every word. Through grief, laughter, and honest storytelling, these wāhine remind us that connection and belonging are not privileges—they’re fundamental to human survival. Being thrown back into a world less equipped than when you went in, coupled with the heavy stigma of the “criminal” label that feels like a target on your back, is not how we build supportive, successful communities—especially for the most vulnerable populations. Affective, accessible programmes and consistent support and care—from the inside out—are essential for reclaiming lost identity and finding new ways to belong in a world that often feels unwelcoming. Call to Action: Everyone who is incarcerated will eventually return to society—they are part of our community. This week, the call is simple: if you know someone who has just been released or is about to be, reach out. Welcome them home with kindness, and remind them they matter. A small act of love, support, and compassion might be the key to breaking the cycle and forging a new path forward together. Episode 6 – From My Heart To Yours; Creating Calm Amongst the Noise In this episode, Roseanne shares how she has shaped her writing and found her creative voice. She discusses the Creative Writing fellowship that helped bring her family together, to turn their experience of the justice system into a transformative creative project. From My Heart To Yours, captures an initial moment in desperate times, where finding space and creativity quieted the noise, to allow for the words. Roseanne’s poems tell the story! It’s you Hā ki roto, hā ki waho One journey Many paths Embrace the process Gather the wisdom Remember the past Overcome the future Unleash the creative spirit Nurture your soul Do no harm Soar Should my scars be deep Defined as if identity Parted cloth, seeping The wounds of past life lived Learned and forgotten But still recorded In books of law Perfunctory pages Open sores evading clean slate Muzzled bubbling Malemo (drowning) Gasping Intentionally breathing Shedding mottled shawls He korowai emerges Te rā glistens Reflects, protects Embracing parts unmolded Shaping melted molten shards Hardened Bevelled smooth, rounded Nothing’s new Reformed, reforged, reclaimed, re-you Moving crisply she flows Unashamed, naked Clothes laid bare For all to view My making and staking Mistaken now shaken Owned and condoned Spacing breath anew My korowai to steer For you to make and wear Poems by Roseanne Leota Call to Action ❤️ Write your heart out ❤️ Why “Take the Space” Matters “We are telling our stories on our own terms, in our own voices,” says a Home Ground participant. “It’s time for us to take the space that has always been ours, and to invite others to join us in creating a more just and compassionate world.” Website: homegroundnz.com Instagram: @home_ground_poneke Facebook: HomeGroundPoneke Spotify: Home Ground
