Kia Ora Koutou,
Well I guess that’s it, Summer is over! With all the extreme weather conditions around the world and as close as Australia, I can’t help wondering if Global Warming is really starting to happen. It’s crazy while I see my northern colleagues on our meetings fanning themselves to cool down, I am wearing my puffer jacket, having lit the fire at home the night before.
Whatever is going on in your lives, and I’m sure there is plenty, I hope you are managing as best as you can. Please don’t underestimate the importance of, as they say “putting on your own oxygen mask first” to take care of yourself. If you just need someone to talk to, support or advocacy, please do give me a call. My hours are Monday to Thursday 8.15am to 4.15pm. I would love to hear from you.
Marney Holthouse
Canterbury Regional Coordinator
0800 693 323 or 027 501 0392
Sadly, we were unable to have any face-to-face events to celebrate Foster Care Awareness Week, hopefully we will get an opportunity to do something belated to acknowledge you all and the big job you do each day caring for your tamariki, Thank You😊
For those that were able to join virtually and see our guest speaker Sarah Naish I’m sure that as I did, you got something memorable from her. With her lived experience as a foster and adoptive mum she is very entertaining and real in sharing her knowledge, wisdom and therapeutic parenting experiences. If you missed seeing her you can google her, she has a number of great YouTube videos.
Have you seen that FASD-CAN have released their new website. This organisation provides some fantastic resources for parents/caregivers of children with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). They are a great starting point if you are unsure of where to begin in the journey of supporting your child/young person with FASD or information on suspected FASD. You can find out more at https://www.fasd-can.org.nz/.
We have been busy sharing our latest training “Making Changes-Stability in Hard Times” with caregivers throughout the motu (country). Feedback has been positive around supporting Caregivers to learn about themselves and ways they can support and strengthen their relationships with tamariki (children).
Watch out for our new and exciting training, “Difficult Behaviours – Managing Confrontation and Intimidating Interactions”. We will be offering this online and face to face with a variety of times to better meet your availability and needs. Click here for more information or to register.
Easter is just around the corner, with the rapid increases in petrol costs 😯 hopefully those wanting to get away for a break will be able to with the temporary reductions in place, please travel safe. I hope you all have a relaxing and restful break.
Did you know about this?
Clothed in Love is essentially a clothing bank for children in need in Christchurch. They can provide high quality clothing packs for any size children from prem sizes to pre-teen (size 16) including shoes, jackets, and practical items for free and specific to the needs of each family.
They would love to help. Check out their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/clothedinlovechch/
or email: clothedinlovechch@gmail.com
Me tiaki, noho pai. Take care and stay well.
Marney
Have you joined our closed Facebook Group?
As a member of Caring Families Aotearoa you have exclusive access to our CLOSED Facebook groups. These are only open to caregivers that are members of Caring Families Aotearoa. This allows our members a platform to seek support, information, and resources.
Click the link below to join!