April 2025 Caregiver News: Upper North Region
Christine Frost
Upper North Regional Coordinator
M: 027 538 9691
Tena koutou katoa,
Kia ora koutou, wow it has been a very busy start to the year! Now that I am becoming familiar with my new region things are starting to fall into place. It has been a pleasure to have already met some of our wonderful members and I acknowledge the amazing job you are doing with your tamariki.
We have a couple of weeks before the end of term one and school holidays start. Do you have any plans for the holidays? I can feel the cold creeping in, so time for the winter blankets to come out in our whare (home). If you have any tips for keeping your whare warm please do share with us on our Private Facebook Groups – Upper North and Auckland
There is also a lot of bugs going around with the change in weather, so please keep yourselves warm and get the home remedies going. We have started with warm lemon and honey drinks in our home. Do you have any home remedies that are great that you would like to share on our Facebook group?
I had the pleasure of attending the Purple Hope Day recently, where I met a few of our members. Thank you to Foster Hope for putting on a fabulous day of picking strawberries, feeding the alpacas, meeting other caregivers and their tamariki, and having lots of fun. If you didn’t manage to make this event, please do keep an eye out on others that may pop up. Here are some photos from the day 😊
Training
I am delighted to announce that in Term Two we will launch our much-anticipated new self-directed learning platform. This has been developed in response to feedback from you about making training more accessible for everyone to take part in. To find out more about the first two courses we are releasing, please click here.
We also have our last facilitated online training this month:
Helping Children Feel Safe – Thursday 3 & Friday 4 April
The emotional age of some tamariki growing up in care can be very different from their actual age. Lisa, our Canterbury Regional Coordinator will host this workshop over two 1.5 hour sessions, helping you to learn more about therapeutic parenting and how to use structure and supervision to help a child feel secure.
To find out more and register, please click here.
Events
Foster Care Awareness Week – Congratulations to the winners of the Auckland Facebook group giveaway during the first week of March, Kerry Thornton and Hannah Van Ballegooy who both took away some goodies from L’Oréal in appreciation of what they are doing. Sharlene Whatuira from our Upper North Facebook page won some goodies from L’Oréal as well. 😊
We had a lovely Excellence in Foster Care Awards at Government House in Wellington last month – we celebrated the amazing contributions of ten caregivers from across the country, one of whom was Deborah Spackman from the Auckland region, (also acknowledging the late Roger Spackman). A huge congratulations and thank you!!!
As I settle into my new region, I want to explore the Upper North and get out and about and meet up with our caregiving members. I want to take the time to think about the planning of some events to celebrate you, and these will take place later in the year. Keep an eye on the Upper North and Auckland Support Facebook pages for what’s coming up.
Support
Waitakere Caregiver Group
Friday 5 April, 10.30am – 12.30pm
Ranui Community Centre, 474 Swanson Road, Ranui.
We welcome all new and existing caregivers!
Browns Bay Coffee and Beach Walk
Tuesday 15 April, 10.30am – 12.30pm
Join us for a wander along Browns Bay Beach (weather permitting) followed by a hot drink at Coffee Club. All welcome.
Beach Walk – meet at the car park located at the corner of Beach Front Lane. Coffee Club – 38 Clyde Road, Browns Bay. Welcome to any new comers, please contact me if you are unsure.
Royal Oak Coffee Group
Thursday 17 April, 10.00am – 12noon
CCS Disability Action, 14 Erson Avenue, Royal Oak.
If you would like a support group set up in your area, please get in contact with me and we will try our best to make this happen.
Facebook Support Groups
I will be monitoring and updating the Caring Families Aotearoa Upper North Regional Support Facebook Page and Auckland Support Facebook Page, so depending which region you live in please still refer to these Facebook groups for information, resources and support relevant to their region.
If you haven’t already, click the button below to join one closest to you!
If you need someone to talk to feel free to connect with me, you can call/text me on 027 538 9691 or reach out via email to uppernorth@caringfamilies.org.nz
My hours of work are 9am – 5pm (Monday to Thursday).
Noho ora mai rā, nā (Look after yourself)
Chris