The group has stayed quite consistent since the closure of the umbrella organisation. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
Volunteers across Wellington are keeping the lights on at former StarJam workshops, despite the umbrella organisation folding late last year.
The group was designed for young people with disabilities, known as jammers, to get together to sing and dance, build confidence and stay active.
Only months before it closed, a successful funding drive had raised more than $165,000 dollars to keep the lights on - but in November, StarJam announced in the face of persistent financial challenges, it could not secure ongoing funding and was shutting down for good.
But groups around Wellington have continued to run workshops, unable to leave their jammers out in the cold.
Tutor Connie Bollen, who had taken up the mantle for the Wellington city-based group, said things had stayed pretty much the same.
"We're very much carrying on, same jammers coming along each week, same structure of workshops, pretty similar turnout as well, which is kind of interesting - I thought it might drop off without the official branding."
Tutor Connie Bollen (centre) and jammer Rowan Reade. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
But it was faced with yet another hurdle - as of 17 April, the space it had been using to hold classes had closed its doors.
The Collective Community Hub in Johnsonville had been funded for the past four years by real estate agency Collective First National, which allowed people to book the space for free.
But a spokesperson for the space told RNZ the residential housing market had dropped and support from local charities ran out, making it impossible to keep the space open.
Bollen's classes were on hold for the school holidays anyway, and she was hopeful something else would turn up soon.
"If you know anywhere, we need somewhere in the Wellington region - ideally this side of town works really well, Johnsonville, Khandallah, Ngaio."
Bollen said she had been trying out a new name for the group - "piata" - meaning to shine.
Gilli Sinclair, who was the chief executive of StarJam when it closed, said she was fully supportive of the groups who were carrying on.
Parents told RNZ the classes provided a big confidence boost and sense of community for their kids.
April Thompson said her daughter Celine, who is 14 years old, autistic and non-speaking, had thrived at StarJam.
"For confidence it's been fantastic," she said.
"The first time we came, Celine was really nervous, didn't want to get up, which was absolutely fine. The second time we came, we just couldn't get her off the dance floor."
Celine Thompson, 14, and her mum April - who says the workshops have been incredible for Celine's confidence. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
Bernadette Reade said her daughter Rowan had taken about a year to get used to the routine of the class, but it had become an important social outlet for her.
"You see how kids progress here, how they can come out of their shells, and realise, 'Oh, I'm okay to do my thing here.' And they get a lot of encouragement."
Rowan's brother Jude often came to watch. "I think it's really good energy around here, and I love that my sister's finally getting into the social stuff," he said.
In Paraparaumu Beach, Sumara Fraser has kept a workshop running at the local scout hall.
She had also been running her own inclusive dance organisation, WiDance, for the past 15 years. "Working for StarJam was a natural addition to the work that I already do."
She said it could be difficult to find an appropriate space; one that was accessible, heated, with easy parking and good acoustics.
Her ex-StarJam group had stayed on at the scout hall, with the cost covered by funding grants.
"Financially, I'm lucky that I have an organisation and we've already got a good funding reputation, so it's quite easy for me to go to different funding bodies and get more funding," she said.
"But for individuals like Connie and Kate who haven't got that, it does make it a lot more difficult getting funding."
One way they could work together would be to apply for funding as a group - "umbrella funding", Fraser called it.
Kate Bain, who runs workshops under the name Porirua Jazzy Jamming for about eight regular attendees in Porirua, had been a StarJam tutor for about six years.
"And just seeing how much the kids have progressed from when I first started to now, and I felt like some were making some really good improvements in their speech and their confidence, that it just seemed a shame to not keep doing it."
Classes were held now, as they had been under StarJam, at a classroom at Whitireia - same day, same time.
"A disruption in routine can be quite hard for some," Bain said. "So I thought it was important to stay there. There's good parking, good bathrooms, we know the venue."
For now, she had charged each jammer $50 for the term to cover the cost.
Bain said it had been hard to get volunteers, having lost some when StarJam closed. "There's been no one to fall back on to cover, or to help me source volunteers or look after those admin things like police checks."
She hoped more volunteers would come forward when they heard groups were still running - and she had space for more jammers to join, too.
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