An Exciting and Challenging Time Ahead NZCCSS welcomed the announcement on 18th April of the pay equity settlement as great news for carers and the older people they work with and “fantastic recognition for the work of caring”. The settlement has been widely welcomed and praised by other peak bodies with the NZ Aged Care…
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‘Solitary confinement’; ‘segregation’; ‘isolation’; ‘seclusion’; ‘de-escalation’; ‘separation’; ‘high security’; ‘supermax’; ‘special management’; ‘low stimulus;’ ‘secure care’; and ‘time out’ are the subject of a recent report requested by the Human Rights Commission and funded by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) through the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of…
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Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi—engari he toa takitini ke! Essentially I never stand alone. The person you see, or support, or uplift, or judge, or diminish is never just me. Never just one. What you do to me, you do to my entire ancestry. For I am just one of the most recent…
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Today’s announcement of a settlement of the Equal Pay case is a welcome step towards recognising the vital work of those doing care work in this country and for work done mainly by women. It also recognises the importance of older people and others who are living with disabilities who are supported through this work,…
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Individual Client Level Data NZCCSS has joined with others from the ComVoices network to take a leadership role in opposing the collection of Individual Client Level Data. This work has included supporting the crafting of an issues paper and a letter to Ministers. While the recent agreement to delay implementation for specialist sexual violence services…
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Garth Nowland-Foreman The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is controversially demanding identifying information about individual clients in exchange for its funding from 1st July. Charities and other non-profits providing essential social services are concerned this may put off vulnerable people seeking help when they need it most. It also has the potential to undermine one…
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Book Review – “Pennies From Heaven – why cash works best to ensure all children thrive” by Jess Berenton-Shaw & Gareth Morgan “Money works. It works when it is given unconditionally and it works best for those on the lowest incomes…” (p.203) This new book published in March by the Morgan Foundation has done us…
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The most recent Roy Morgan poll asking people ‘what is the biggest problem facing New Zealand’ shows that housing and homelessness have emerged to join inequality and poverty as the leading problems that people are concerned about. It will be no surprise that the on-going concerns of those working in social services in communities around…
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NZCCSS member agencies in Auckland continue to lead the way in responding to homelessness in Auckland. The launch in March of the Auckland Housing First initiative is a collaboration driven by LifeWise, the Auckland City Mission along with VisionWest, Affinity Services and Wise Group’s LinkPeople and funded through MSD and the Auckland City Council. The…
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“If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. If you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together” (Lilla Watson) Updates from social services Giving New Confidence and Self-esteem: The Anglican Trust for Women and Children in Auckland reports their Camp Orama gave mother…
Continue Reading →In a rare show of Parliamentary unity all MPs showed their support for victims of domestic abuse and have all voted for it in the first reading of MP Jan Logie’s Members Bill. The Bill would enable victims of domestic abuse to receive 10 days of paid leave from employers to help them move house, attend court hearings and…
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The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has taken landlords to court using new powers from the changes made to rental laws last year. The changes mean that the government can take action against landlords breaching tenancy rules without requiring the tenants themselves to go to court. People renting are often reluctant to complain…
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Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy has been joined by a host of other prominent New Zealanders in calling for an independent inquiry into the abuse of people in state care. The Never Again open letter calls for an inquiry to ensure that the voices of those affected by abuse are heard, the lasting and…
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The future of affordable housing for seniors is looking better in at least one part of Auckland. In December 2016, HBH Senior Living purchased the Stevenson Village rental housing units in Howick. The units have been providing affordable housing for older people since the mid-1970s and had been put on the market by the original…
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NZCCSS social services continue to lead innovation in aged care The Selwyn Foundation has three new developments under way in Auckland and Cambridge that focus on a model of living for older people needing rest home care that seeks to create small households within larger aged care complex. Selwyn Foundation CEO Garry Smith explains that…
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