August 2025 Canterbury Caregiver News

Kia ora Whānau,

It’s hard to believe we are in August and on the home stretch to welcoming Spring. June was such a special month celebrating Matariki and I love seeing Aotearoa embracing its significance. Whether you attended an event, celebrated with your school or community, or took a moment to pause, I hope the new year ahead is filled with more of the things and people you love.

June signified my six months of being in this role and I took some time to reflect on just how much I have learnt and how many wonderful caregivers, whānau and organisations I have had the pleasure of connecting with.

I recently attended a two-day conference in North Canterbury and the line-up of guest speakers were exceptional. There was a particular guest speaker from the NZ Resilience and Wellbeing Institute who spoke about self-care and burnout prevention. It was a timely presentation to hear as Winter can be a particularly challenging time of year when we spend more time inside, and potentially not engaging as much in the things that bring us joy-even if it’s a morning coffee in the sun!

As a busy working Mum myself, I know it’s easy to roll your eyes when someone says ‘self-care’, and I know it can be particularly challenging for our caregivers, some of whom are juggling multiple children, and their individual needs. Taking 10min for yourself can sometimes feel an impossible task. So, on those days, or weeks try ‘me too’, if ‘me first’ feels too hard. Go to bed early, invite a friend over, read a book (instead of fold the washing) while the kids watch a movie, take the long way home to listen to the end of the podcast or song! Whatever it might be, please take care of yourself with the same love and compassion as you do for the tamariki you care for, even on the hard days!

• I’d love to hear from you and any learnings/wins you have had that relate to whānau/caregiving?
• What are you looking forward to this month?
• Feel free to include photos.
• Send them to me at canterbury@caringfamilies.org.nz

TRAINING

We are receiving fantastic feedback from caregivers about this new way of learning with our online self-directed platform. If there are any barriers preventing you from registering and getting started, please reach out and let me know so I can help!

Caregiving 101 withdrawn

You may be aware that we were expecting to release Caregiving 101 this month. This training has been temporarily withdrawn to ensure it gives you all the tools you need when beginning your caregiving journey.

If you have already registered for Caregiving 101, please know that you will be the first to learn when it becomes available. We apologise for this inconvenience, but we really want to make sure Caregiving 101 is right for you. If you have any questions, please email training@caringfamilies.org.nz

New course available

National Care Standards Part 2: Supporting the wellbeing, development and education of children and young people in care – now sits alongside Parts 1 and 3 of our National Care Standards training.

As is the case with all our self-directed online training, National Care Standards Part 2 can be completed online at a time and date that suits you. However, if you’d like to get underway this month, please make sure you register by midday Wednesday 6 August 2025. Too busy? Don’t worry – you can select a start date for later in the year, instead.

Click below to learn more about our full range of self-directed courses.

If you would like some more information about our new training format, or you are unsure about how it works, please do get in touch! 

Once you have completed our new courses, let me know what you think – I’d love to hear your feedback!

events

I am currently planning a trip to Ashburton in collaboration with my friends at VOYCE Whakarongo Mai. This whānau event will be held in the September holidays and I will be staying on to facilitate and guide the Ashburton Support Group through one of our new self-directed trainings. Watch this space for more information to come!

SUPPORT

North Canterbury Caregivers Catch up

Date: Tuesday 12 August

Time: 11.00am-1.00pm

Please bring a plate to share for lunch. New members and children are welcome!

Please contact Debbie for more information: debbiecurtis1965@gmail.com

Whānau Kin Support Group

Meeting monthly, second Thursday of each month.

Next catchup date: Thursday 14 August

Time: 10.00am

Place: Cafe Jireh, 81 Bickerton Street, Wainoni

Plenty of parking, children are welcome! Regional Coordinator Lisa is the group liaison, and we welcome all members who are caring for whānau to come and meet for a coffee!

Please contact Lisa for more information canterbury@caringfamilies.co.nz | 0275010005

Eastside Whanau & Foster Care Support Group

Date: Thursday 21 August

Time: 11am

Place:  Paulines House

Please contact Pauline for more information: denis.pauline@xtra.co.nz

Christchurch West Caregiver Support Group

Meeting monthly, first Tuesday of each month.

Next catchup date: Tuesday 2 September

Time: 10.00-12pm

New members and children are welcome!

Please contact Sytske or Bonny for more information sytskenz@gmail.com

bonbazstephens@gmail.com

FACEBOOK SUPPORT GROUP

Also keep an eye on our Canterbury Support Facebook page for information from me and our Support group meet ups!

If you need someone to talk to feel free to connect with me, your regional coordinator. My hours of work are 8.30am – 4.30pm Tuesday to Friday

Phone: 027 501 0005
Email: canterbury@caringfamilies.org.nz

Or you can call our national office 0800 693 323.

Take care,

Lisa