[ Return ]The Honourable Dame Silvia Cartwright PCNZM, DBE
Governor-General of New Zealand
At the opening of new premises for the Family Help Trust
Christchurch
30 March 2005
Kia ora koutou, nga mihi nui ki a koutou, tena koutou kua huihui mo tenei hakari. Greetings, everyone, greetings to all gathered here for this celebration.
Greetings: Mayor Garry Moore, Trust Chairperson Sally Thompson, Libby Robbins (Trust Director), ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure for me to be here today at this function to mark the opening of new premises for the Family Help Trust.
I became Patron of this organisation some one and a half years ago and in that short time I have seen the remarkable progress the Trust has made in establishing itself as a key organisation in this region.
Most of you will be familiar with the Trust's work. Since its establishment some 15 years ago, it has focused on early intervention with Christchurch parents identified as being at high risk of child abuse. A team of social workers work with the parents from pregnancy through till the child starting school.
The Trust is in high demand and has seen hundreds of families. Sadly, there is a waiting list but this unfortunately is one of the realities for the Trust and those who use its services.
The Family Help Trust has a strong commitment to evidence based practice and service effectiveness. Over the past two years, it has developed better information collecting systems which enable it to measure progress in families over time.
Dr. Mark Turner has already explained in a bit more detail how the Trust's service can be evaluated based on these new systems.
There is really no excuse for the level of abuse and other negative statistics that this country has. We are all working hard to achieve improvements in this area, and it is for this reason that I wholeheartedly support the Family Help Trust and the people who work so hard to achieve its goals.
I congratulate you on all your work and also on your new premises, and I am delighted to now declare these buildings officially open.
Tena koutou katoa.