26 June 2006

Answer to Abuse - better funding for non-governmental social service agencies

The Family First Lobby is calling on the government, in the wake of the Kahui murders and the call for greater prevention of child abuse, to invest in the thousands of organisations working in the community on a daily basis.

“These are organizations at the ‘top of the cliff’ doing a fantastic job, working day in day out with families at risk with practical help including budgeting, parenting skills, and education, yet are struggling to survive because of financial constraints,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of the Family First Lobby. Mr McCoskrie is a legal advisor for a number of charitable trusts, and is Board Chairman and founder of a trust working with at-risk youth in South Auckland.

“Too often these charitable organisations, who are working tirelessly with families who are at-risk, are surviving only through constant applications to gaming trusts and private donations,” says Mr McCoskrie. “The availability and effectiveness of these organisations’ services is affected by this constant need to fundraise, and they are at the whim and mercy of the gaming and charitable funding organisations as to how much they can budget on working with each year.”

“This is unacceptable!” says Bob McCoskrie. “Non-governmental organisations like Parents Inc, HIPPY Foundation, Homes of Hope in the Bay of Plenty, Crosspower Ministries and Houhanga Rongo in Otara, Stepping Stone Trust in Christchurch, and many many others throughout NZ are struggling to meet the demand. They are competing with each other for the gambling and alcohol Trust dollar. This all takes their focus off their core work – of preventing more cases like the Kahui’s.”

“Yet the government can find $3m to get Tana Umaga to tell parents to read to their kids. Community based organisations are already doing this – more effectively, and over many years.”

“Governmental organisations like CYF cannot cope with the breakdown of family in NZ. It is time we funded community based organisations to a level where they can met the demand.”

“Whether they are in line with current government ideology is irrelevant. They need our support because they’re part of our community response to the shame of child abuse in NZ.”

ENDS

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