Rawiri's story.

Rawiri had always been creative. Drawing, different art forms, picking things up along the way. Carving came to him through the Navigate Initiative and, once it did, it stuck.

"Once I picked it up, I kind of loved it," he says.

The carving room in the unit became his place. When tension built around him, he went there. When his head was full, he went there. Before he touched the wood, he would sit with it. Think about what he was feeling. Then the chisel and mallet would do the rest.

"When I'm in the carving room, that's my safety. That's my peace."

Over time he developed his own style, and began teaching others who were new to it. He'd give them a board, draw some lines and curves, and watch how they handled it. Some picked it up quickly. Others needed more time. Either way, he had something to offer them that went beyond technique.

"We learn to be respectful for what we have. It's a privilege to even have those tools."

When a carving wasn't going the way he wanted, he learned to adapt. Change direction. Find a new line. He talks about one piece in particular where he had to reshape as he went, and then quietly connects it to something larger.

"You have to adapt and change as you go. But that's the process of living."

It's that kind of thinking that runs through everything Rawiri says. Carving didn't just give him a skill. It gave him a way of understanding himself and, eventually, a way of giving back. Now back in the community, Rawiri is not leaving carving behind. He has plans already forming. And the carving pictured here, which now sits in the Pathway office, is his gift to us. He made it during his time in the Navigate Initiative and donated it on his way out. He says he has always liked giving.

Look closely at the carving next time you visit us and you will notice a small patch in the wood. Rawiri put it there deliberately. It is a reminder, he says, that none of us are perfect.

"Everything's got a crack in it. But we all live by rough edges."

*Name has been changed

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