February 2025 Central North Caregiver News

Welcome back everyone! I am the old but new Regional Coordinator for Central North.

I have been with Caring Families Aotearoa for three years and I was previously the Regional Coordinator for Auckland. I come from Ōtorohanga and lived in Hamilton before coming to Auckland 10-ish years ago.

This new Central North Region has broadened for 2025, which means I will be covering from Manukau down to Taupō, but not including the areas of Coromandel, Tauranga, Ōpōtiki and the east point down to Gisborne. It is my absolute pleasure to be able to offer support for our members of this region.  I will work very hard to continue the great work of my predecessors and I look forward to being able to connect with as many of you as possible.

To understand the region boundaries a bit better there is an interactive map on our website, and a list of the towns that are in this new region. Please click here to find out more.

Events

Summer Pool Party on Saturday 15 February – Christie McGiven (Central North Regional Coordinator) and I are hosting a combined Auckland event to kick off 2025 and introduce ourselves. We are looking forward to seeing everyone who has registered to attend for a swim and lunch in the sun. This event is fully booked. 

Foster Care Awareness week, (3-9 March) is an annual celebration held every March. It’s a special week that is all about celebrating YOU; our wonderful caregiver members who put in the mahi every day to care for some of Aotearoa’s most vulnerable children.

As I settle into my new region, I want to explore the Central 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 Central North Support Facebook page for what’s coming up.

training

Want to start 2025 empowered with the right therapeutic parenting tools to help you on your caregiving journey?! Our online training schedule kicks off this month offering you a variety of courses to help you on your caregiving journey.

In March, I will be hosting the following training sessions online:

What’s Behind the Behaviour (The Why)
Thursday 13 March
10am-12pm
Register here

What’s Behind the Behaviour (The How)
Monday 17 March
7pm-9pm
Register here

For all other training, click below to go to our training calendar and find the region relevant to you.

support

I will be monitoring and updating the following Caring Families Aotearoa Facebook Support Pages; Auckland South Support and Central North Support. Please note that if you live in Tauranga and along the Coast of the Bay of Plenty you will need to remove yourself from Central North and ask to join the North East Support group. This will mean everyone can continue to receive information, resources and support relevant to their region.

If you need someone to talk to, feel free to connect with me, you can call/text me on 027 501 0393 or reach out via email to centralnorth@caringfamilies.org.nz

My hours of work are 9am – 5pm (Monday to Thursday) and 9am-2:30pm (Friday).

I look forward to either seeing you or hearing from you. Take care of yourself!

Christie