Kia ora koutou/Hi everyone,

Well, it had to happen, the end of a very pleasant summer of mostly decent weather and long warm days. Autumn is upon us and so are the school holidays. Thank you for gifting me your time during Foster Care Awareness Week, we had some lovely get-togethers and kai! It is always a highlight for me to spend time with your whānau/families and always such a surprise to see how much the children have grown since our last get-togethers. I love when I see contact details exchanged between caregivers as this is one of the key objectives of bringing people together.

I will have a pretty busy training schedule in term two so I hope I can connect with as many of you as possible. I may not be in my office all the time, but I am available for support wherever I happen to be, so give me a call or text if you need support.

SUPPORT

Please reach out if you think I may be able to lend you a listening ear or can help to support you in some way. My number is 0273693333, reach out with a call or via text.

Our support groups have started in Nelson, Westport and Blenheim and we will let you know via our Facebook page when they are happening around the region.

Coffee group in Nelson – Due to school holidays there is no meeting this month.

Another great place to get support is our private closed caregiver Facebook group. This group is only open to our caregiver members, so you have the freedom to air your thoughts without judgement. Everyone in the group gets what you’re going through.  Click the button below to join.

OFFICE HOURS :

My days of work are Monday-Wednesday 9.00am-4:30pm, Thursday 9:30am-1:30pm. I am often away in my region for training and support so please ring me if you wish to pop in – 027 369 3333.

TRAINING AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

We will be re-running some of our modules in term two for those that haven’t had a chance to do some of the earlier topics. What’s behind the Behaviour and Difficult Behaviours will be happening in Greymouth, Helping Children Feel Safe in Motueka and Blenheim and Keeping Memories in Nelson and Westport.

• Helping Children Feel Safe [In person], Wednesday 10 May, 9:30am – 1:00pm, Motueka 
• What’s Behind the Behaviour [In person], Friday 26 May, 9:30am – 1:30pm, Greymouth
• Helping Children Feel Safe [In person], Thursday 8 June, 9:30am – 1:00pm, Blenheim
• Keeping Memories [In person], Monday 12 June, 10:00am – 12:00pm, Nelson
• Keeping Memories [In person], Wednesday 28 June, 10:00am – 12:00pm, Westport
• Difficult Behaviours [In person], Thursday 29 June, 9:30am – 1:00pm, Greymouth

Our Training Calendar will go live in early April, and we will notify you via email and our Facebook page so that you can register.

Contact Dagmar, our Training Coordinator, on 0800 693 323.  She can help you with any questions and even register you for training if you’re having trouble.

EVENTS

Many thanks to those who helped and attended our Foster Care Awareness Week events in the Upper South and thanks to our partners;

• Oranga Tamariki,
• Voyce – Whakarongo Mai,
• Homebuilders,
• Open Home Foundation.

..who all helped make them happen.

Tiaki i a koutou anō, look after yourselves!

Denise