February 2024 caregiver news: central north region

“WOW”  Here we are already in February 2024!

I hope everyone’s Christmas and New Years was full of love and laughter!  Strengthening relationships was probably a highlight for me over the holiday period. Deliberately using PACE with my whānau and not sweating the small stuff, were a couple of tools that got me through these holidays!  I hope all of you managed to get a break or rest in the holidays, if not allow yourselves some time to do something nice for yourself.  Let me know if you are stuck and we can go over some ideas.

For most of us, our tamariki and rangatahi are back at school, this can be a challenging time for both ourselves and our tamariki and rangatahi.  From starting school, and forming new routines to forming new relationships and everything in between, this can be a lot to juggle for most of us.  Remember to be kind to yourself and if you need any support please do call.  I am here to support however big or small it may be.

Training

We have a range of great training topics available virtually this term! If you’re not sure what topic might be most relevant to you and your situation, feel free to reach out to have a chat about it, or you can check out our new training pages on our website that give you more detailed information about the courses, and how they can help you by providing valuable tools and practical advice to help your tamariki heal. Click below to learn more about our training.

To view our training schedule for the Central North region and see what we have coming up, click below.

Events

Mark your calendars again for Foster Care Awareness Week!!!!

Foster Care Awareness week is an annual celebration held in the first week of March. It’s a special week that is all about celebrating YOU; our wonderful caregiver members!

I am working hard to put on some awesome celebratory events for caregivers in the Central North.

Details are to be confirmed soon, so keep a look out on Facebook and our website and I’ll also send an email with all the details once confirmed.

Support Groups

I would love to hear from you if you’re interested in having a caregiver group in your local area.  Share your feedback on what you’d like a group to look like: what location, day, or time (evening/day), suits you and any other brilliant brainwaves you might have!

Below are the current groups available for this month.

Tauranga Support Group

Date: Friday 9th February

Venue: 56 Eighteenth Avenue,

Time: 10am-12pm, followed by a shared lunch (please bring a plate to share).

Group contacts:  Carol Lashlie & Kahu Grace

Please RSVP to me at centralnorth@caringfamilies.org.nz

Looking forward to seeing you!

Lastly, FASD-CAN is running a free two-day course for grandparents, parents, caregivers and whānau in Rotorua on Friday 23rd February. To find out more click here – Life with FASD Caregiver Training – Rotorua – FASD-CAN

Chris