Linda’s Messge to You
Happy Easter to you and your ‘bubble’. I was very happy to hear Jacinda Adern announce on Monday that the Easter Bunny is an essential service and can visit this weekend. I am also looking forward to going out on my daily walk over the weekend and seeing all the Easter Egg pictures around the community. If you missed this announcement, she is encouraging young people to either draw their own egg or use the one attached in the button below and stick it in their window, much like the ‘bear hunt’.
The past two weeks have been interesting. I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that our country would all be living in isolation with their ‘bubble’ and it is not something that we or you had prepared for. We know that many of you are living with challenges; full households, family members who have lost their jobs, children who want to leave and children with developmental trauma.
We also know that supporting children through this time takes a great deal of energy and understanding. Our DDP team will be offering some valuable suggestions and tips to help you with this, so keep an eye on the Facebook pages and if you are not a member of your local page (caregivers only) contact us and we can connect you.
Please know that we are here to support you. Our team are all working safely from their ‘bubbles’ and are focused on getting you through these times. You can still call your RC direct, call us on 0800 693 323 or send us an email enquiries@caringfamilies.org.nz.
It has been nice to hear that many families are enjoying this time together without the stress of getting ready for school, doing homework and after school activities. If you would like to share with other caregivers what has been working well with your family email enquiries@caringfamilies.org.nz and we will post some ideas on our Facebook page.
Before COVID-19 became all we talked about, I had a meeting with Minister Sepuloni and Minister Martin’s advisor to discuss Studylink. We are pleased to report that after many years of advocating we have seen a change to StudyLink. Caregivers will no longer be means tested when young people in their care want to further their study and apply for StudyLink.
Stay safe and remember to take care of yourself too.
Ngā Mihi O Te Aranga (Happy Easter)
Linda
CEO
If you need support during this time, please call us on 0800 693 323. Caring Families Aotearoa have Regional Coordinators throughout New Zealand who are there to support YOU, our wonderful, hard working Caregivers.