August 2025 Upper South Caregiver News

Kia ora koutou whānau,

Here we are in the last month of winter! And what a shocker it has been in the Top of the South in regard to weather events. It has had a devastating impact for many in our region. I hope that our caregiving community has stayed safe amongst the turmoil. The clean up will be ongoing for some time I suspect.

I know as a caregiver, even though we haven’t personally been affected by these floods, the general unease of our children is heightened when things happen so close to home. More reassurance is needed, the ongoing news reports and pictures of devastated damage creates an extra level of anxiety.  I always try to limit the exposure to the events as much as I can. Some information is necessary but not all. It’s a tough one to navigate with children that have developmental trauma.

As I have mentioned previously, we have had the wonderful addition of a new grandchild to our whānau and I was lucky enough to be able to be at his birth. The importance of being able to support our adult children, that have been with us in our caregiving journey, was poignant during this time. I am so grateful that now as adults they choose for us to remain involved, and we get the blessing of the next generation to add to the ever-expanding extended family that is us.

Take care for this end of winter season, stay warm and I for one am looking forward to some lovely spring days with sunshine and a touch of warmth to the skin.

Training

I have spoken to several of our caregivers in the region who have tried our new self-directed online learning. I am encouraged that they have enjoyed the first few courses and they have found it easy to navigate. There is another course to add to your kete now, so I encourage you to try it out.

Caregiving 101 withdrawn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 This training has been temporarily withdrawn to ensure it gives you all the tools you need when beginning your caregiving journey.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.

I would like to do a deliver a course this term on one of the new topics, to a support group in our region. Please let me know if you are keen to be part of this and we can journey together expanding our toolkits and learning how to deepen our connection with our children through DDP and PACE.

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

We have no upcoming events this month but watch this space for registrations for Family Fun Day events in my next update to you.

Support

We have the following Support/Coffee groups happening this month.

Nelson Coffee Group

Date & Time: Monday 18 August (note change of date), 10.00am

Venue: Tahunanui Community Hub, 55 Muritai Street, Nelson

Contact Denise 0273693333

Nelson Whānau Support Group (GRG)

Next meeting dates: Friday 15, 29 August

Time: 10am or earlier if you want to start with breakfast

Venue: Nelson Golf club, 38 Bolt Road

Contact Sharon Norriss 0277244913

Marlborough Support Group

Date & Time: Friday 22 August, 10.00am or earlier if you want to start with breakfast

Venue: Runway Café, 760 Middle Renwick Road, Blenheim

Contact Denise 0273693333

FACEBOOK SUPPORT GROUP

Keep an eye on our Upper South 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 – phone 027 369 3333 or email uppersouth@caringfamilies.org.nz

My hours of work are 8.30am – 4.30pm Monday to Thursday.

Or you can call our national office 0800 693 323.

Ngā mihi,
Denise