Podcast
Take the space
Home Ground has launched our new podcast and audio journey, Take The Space,
made by and for women with experience of the justice system.
Home Ground is a creativity and wellbeing programme for women who have experienced the justice system. Home Ground is building a community that values lived experience and supports women to take space for themselves and find ways of sharing their stories through different art forms.
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.
You will hear more about the work we do and the community we are building.
Listen to Wellington Access Radio 106.1FM
Launching 6pm, Tuesday 28 January 2025!
This project has been generously supported by The Grace Memorial Trust, and Arts Access Aotearoa.
The Grace Memorial Trust was established by the late Diana Unwin in 1992 and the Trust’s giving has mainly been focused on anti-violence, social justice and peace initiatives.
Take The Space
Episode 1:
The House That Home Ground Built.
In the debut episode, Home Ground co-founder Jacqui and collective members Roseanne, Pip and Rachel, introduce the project and its mission.
Titled "The House that Home Ground Built", the episode explores the journey of creating a space for women in the justice system to thrive, heal, and create lasting change. The episode also highlights how creativity has played a vital role in rebuilding identities, surviving trauma, and fostering hope — not just for the women involved, but for their whānau (families) as well.
“We've built something special over the last five years — a house where women can come together, share their stories, and begin to heal,” says one of the core crew members. “This podcast is a way for us to share what we've learned and invite the world into our space."
Why "Take The Space" Matters
The Home Ground podcast aims to amplify voices that are often overlooked in the mainstream conversation about justice reform. Through this podcast, the Home Ground Collective is creating a platform for women who have been incarcerated or impacted by the justice system to speak for themselves, tell their stories, and reclaim their narrative. With each episode, listeners will hear how the arts — in all its forms — are used as tools for healing, empowerment, and social change.
“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.”
Credits:
Audio Engineer: Jonny Marx
Creative content written and performed by the Home Ground Collective
Opening poem: Ko Wai Au, written by Roseanne and Jacqui
Taonga Pūoro: Ruby Hinepunui Solly
Sound recording: Aimmee Martin
Soundscape design: Dan James
From the Home Ground short film Project Toru,
Directed by Vanessa Stacey
"Actions Speak Louder than Words" was a collaboration between artists on inside and outside of Arohata Women's Prison, 2021.
Lyrics, poetry, performance and concept: Project Rua participants, women in Arohata Prison
Vocals: Moana Leota
Guitar & music composition: Hunter Parahihi Sound
Taonga Pūoro: Ruby Hinepunui Solly
Recording and design: Aimee Martin
Episode 2
Finding My Why
Finding My Why will be available on Wellington Access Radio 6pm on Tuesday 4th of March 2025.
In this episode, our amazing Plant Mama, TeAue, talks about the journey of ‘finding your why’ when you are in prison, and when you get home - 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.
This episode was inspired by TeAue recording sounds that mattered to her, like the sound of driving home to her family, and listenting to the birds at dawn. Some of the audio was taken from Home Ground remote online workshops, where TeAue would regularly be an inspiration for all of us.
TeAue is a co-facilitator on our projects in the lower North Island, and contributes to our mahi through her visual arts and design. As a collaborating artist who has spent several years inside, her knowledge represent's the strength of lived experience, what it takes to rebuild your life, and how much gratitude and hard work goes into finding your why.
Call to Action
Our call to action this week is to ask yourself why? How are you going to live your life? What really matters to you right now?
For those listeners who don’t know this reality, you can read ‘Journey to Prison - who goes and why’ by Celia Lashilie. In Journey to Prison Celia examines crime in Aotearoa New Zealand, the way we punish offenders, the effectiveness of prison (for both men and women), parental responsibility, the role of drugs, where education comes in and the role of state institutions. Underpinning Ces’s argument is the need for the community as a whole to take responsibility for the incidence of crime in our society. Prison is just a representation of the bigger issues we face in the community. As Celia would say - every child is pure and filled with their own particular brand of magic.
So here is your call to action...
✨✨✨find your why, find your magic ✨✨✨
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.”
Episode 2 Credits
Audio Engineer: Jonny Marx
Creative content written and performed by the Home Ground Collective
Opening Song "Actions Speak Louder than Words"
A collaboration between artists inside and outside of Arohata Women's Prison, 2021.
Lyrics, poetry, performance, and concept: Project Rua participants in Arohata Prison Guitar & composition: Hunter Parahihi
Vocals: Moana Leota
Taonga Pūoro: Ruby Hinepunui Solly
Recording and design: Aimee Martin
TeAue's chosen song
Artist: Jazo
Writers: Jasmine Pene
Producer: Jasmine Pene
Episode 3
Nature as a Healer
Nature as a Healer will be available on Wellington Access Radio 6pm on Tuesday 11th of March 2025.
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 ✨✨✨
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.”
Episode 3 Credits
Audio Engineer - Jonny Marx
Creative content written and performed by Super Narni
Poem for Narni's mum written and performed by Roseanne Leota
Opening Song "Actions Speak Louder than Words"
A collaboration between artists inside and outside of Arohata Women's Prison, 2021.
Lyrics, poetry, performance, and concept: Project Rua participants in Arohata
Prison Guitar & composition: Hunter Parahihi
Vocals: Moana Leota
Taonga Pūoro: Ruby Hinepunui Solly
Recording and design: Aimee Martin
Episode 4
Community, Collaboration and Kotahitanga
Episode Four will be available on Wellington Access Radio 6pm on Tuesday 26th of March 2025.
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, partners and the local community - Home Ground becomes what it needs to be.
Home Ground supports women through creative arts and well-being practices, establishing a place for creative practice in the community or a prison. We facilitate the difficult transition between prisons and communities, assisting wāhine to create opportunities for reconnection to themselves and others.
Why do we collaborate with artists and co-create with women? Creating in isolation leads to doing what "you" believe is best. Co-creating means developing solutions "with" rather than for. Encouraging wāhine to shape their own healing processes means collaborating on solutions rather than imposing them.
In this episode you will hear collective poems, shared music making, soundscapes of collaboration in different places, we collaborate in lots of different ways, with all sorts of people. Sharing our stories, understanding our collective wisdom, building community, collaborating together, we reach the goal of kotahitanga.
Call to Action
Our call to action this week is to understand that sharing our stories, understanding our collective wisdom, building community, collaborating together, we reach the goal of kotahitanga.
✨✨✨Toitū Te Tiriti. ✨✨✨
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.”
Episode Four Credits
Audio Engineer - Jonny Marx
Creative content written and performed by Home Ground crew
Taonga Pūoro collaboration led by Ruby Hinepunui Solly
Ngā mihi to our collaborators featured in this episode
Vanessa Vivas
Hoea! (we miss you)
Sacha Copland and the incredible Java Dance Theatre
Opening Song "Actions Speak Louder than Words"
A collaboration between artists inside and outside of Arohata Women's Prison, 2021.
Lyrics, poetry, performance, and concept: Project Rua participants in Arohata Prison Guitar & composition: Hunter Parahihi
Vocals: Moana Leota
Taonga Pūoro: Ruby Hinepunui Solly
Recording and design: Aimee Martin
Closing Poem 'Home Ground', written by FREEBIRD, read by Ruby Hinepunui Solly
Episode 5
Programmes & Promises;
Who really gets a chance?
Episode Five will be available on Wellington Access Radio 6pm on Tuesday 22nd of April 2025.
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.
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.”
Episode Five Credits
Audio Engineer - Jonny Marx
Opening Song "Actions Speak Louder than Words"
A collaboration between artists inside and outside of Arohata Women's Prison, 2021.
Lyrics, poetry, performance, and concept: Project Rua participants in Arohata Prison
Guitar & composition: Hunter Parahihi
Vocals: Moana Leota
Taonga Pūoro: Ruby Hinepunui Solly
Recording and design: Aimee Martin
Episode 6 will be available on Wellington Access Radio 6pm on Tuesday 20th of May 2025.
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.”
Episode Six Credits
Audio Engineer - Jonny Marx
Opening Song "Actions Speak Louder than Words"
A collaboration between artists inside and outside of Arohata Women's Prison, 2021.
Lyrics, poetry, performance, and concept: Project Rua participants in Arohata Prison
Guitar & composition: Hunter Parahihi
Vocals: Moana Leota
Taonga Pūoro: Ruby Hinepunui Solly
Recording and design: Aimee Martin
Poems by Roseanne Leota