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Homicide Support
Homicide Family Support
 
 
Debra Stokes, accompanied by her husband Gerard, gave us an insight into her challenging role as a Family Support Worker in homicide situations which came into being in 2013.   She is one of three staff that offers this throughout NZ.
 
“While we found it very challenging being a new role, it also meant we were able to make our own way” explained Debra.
 
Initially started as a project, it is now an ongoing established part of the 1st responder process which also includes the Police, Fire Service and Ambulance which often involves accompanying Police when families are told what has happened.
 
 “The primary families who have lost a loved one are the recipients of our service”, continued Debra, “and they can live anywhere on the planet.”  This makes her role very wide reaching.
 
Robust family support is available and provided which includes attendance at Court processes which can take a long time.  After that families are also supported through the Courts process.
 
“Every family has different needs”, noted Debra, “and when multiple attendees are involved it can take a long time to go through the process.”
 
In commenting on the Mosque incident, Debra noted that this was totally different to other experiences as it affected people throughout New Zealand and the world.  “We were initially flying by the seat of our pants but knew that we needed to get as many of our support workers as possible on the ground quickly” she explained.
 
Debra saw it as a privilege to help out during this situation and knew they needed to ensure culturally appropriate support was in place as needs varied from working with highly qualified people to supporting others where language issues required help with basic English.
 
“Ongoing support will be continued for a long time”, noted Debra, as the process will continue well into the future.
 
She has found it amazing to work with a wide variety of cultural communities but also challenging in ensuring everyone is working off the same sheet.  This required seeking out culturally appropriate ways to interact with families and it was helpful to receive training in this area.
 
Overall Debra found that communities were very gracious and welcoming and it was a privilege to support families through the process.
 
Moving forward, it is fortunate that the Ministry of Justice is on board with funding and they also have more people on the ground as the process continues.
 
Most funding for the service comes from the Ministry of Justice, explained Debra, but support is also provided via ACC plus other various fund raising efforts which helps cover additional costs including funerals.
 
With respect to the offenders, support can also offered to their relatives who are often traumatised by what they are experiencing. This is especially present when car crash deaths are involved.
 
With respect to how she manages the challenges of the role, Debra explained that her focus is strongly on the job she has to do and she ensures that the roles of the different parties are known, clear and followed.
 
“My role”, clarified Debra, “is to help the people I work with make decisions and to refer them on to the appropriate support service depending on the specific nature of their needs.”
 
She noted that the Police are very supportive of her role. 
 
We thanked Debra for insights into her challenging work and for giving us a broader understanding of the way in which this valuable service operates.
 
 
 
Pap Halloween Event
Halloween Scavenger Hunt
 
Report from Liz
 
Rotary Papanui partnered with local Real Estate business, Ray White Papanui to bring some family community fun to the locals on the 31st October.
 
It took the form of a children’s scavenger hunt to identify Halloween figures at 10 stations, writing it down on the sheet provided and giving it back at the end to receive a bag of sweets. We allowed an hour to complete this hunt and it worked out perfectly.
 
Using Ray White’s Facebook page registration for the event it attracted over 400 + children. Large posters and flyers were put in shop windows and delivered to primary schools and households in the local area.
 
Liz Courtney, from Papanui Rotary, organised the set-up of 5 of the stations along with plenty of Rotarian helpers and Ray White volunteers did the remaining 5.
 
The collaboration between the groups was wonderful beginning with putting together 500 small paper bags of sweets with Rotary / Ray White branding a few days before and working out the Halloween stations that would be the most effective and easy for us to assemble within a short 2 hour period.
 
This event gave us an opportunity to showcase Rotary, work with a local business and educate them about Rotary and the benefits of partnering with us. Our event skills were highlighted and it engaged over half of our members both young and older.
 
The feedback has been fantastic from families who attended, our Rotarians and the staff at Ray White.
 
This is a repeat event!
 
 
 
Trailer Final
Trailer Raffle Final Week
 
 
Hi Everyone
 
Hi Everyone.
 
The raffle is coming to an end.  We still, however, still need a few names on the roster to finish it off.  If you can spare a couple of hours between Wednesday and Sunday, please add your name via the Roster Link  and let me know.
 
Just as importantly:
 
We need the butts, money, & any unsold tickets back.
 
If you still haven't brought them back please do so by Friday so that any unsold books can be sold over the weekend. Where possible we want to sell them in numerical order to lessen the gaps between sold and unsold for the draw.
 
Thursday night's meeting would be an ideal time to bring them in, but if you can't make it then please make arrangements to get them to me somehow. 
 
Kind regards:
 
Deryn
021 116 15861
datregurtha@gmail.com
 
 
 
Snippets
 
Sherie (Library) and Paul (Grounds) at Mairehau Primary team up to help Rotary load a trailer full of books for the children in Fiji. “Thank you Mairehau - you are like gold to the Fijian pupils” (Denis).
 
 
“If you go into the woods today” … great picture from Denis of Liz & Nick taking it to the weeds on our Papanui Bush project!
 
 
Reminder that our EftPOS Machine will not be available at the Club Meeting this week but will be available from next week onwards as the raffle draws to a close.
 
 
Thought for the week …
Why is it that people who think life is predetermined look 1st before crossing the road?
 
 
 
Upcoming Events you are welcome to attend
 
Peer Support Training Days
Morrison Avenue Bowling Club
Nov 18, 2019 9:00 AM –
Nov 19, 2019 3:00 PM
 
Board Meeting
to be advised
Nov 19, 2019
7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
 
Richard Archbold - Architect
The Papanui
Nov 21, 2019
5:55 PM – 7:30 PM
 
Trailer Raffle drawn
to be advised
Nov 22, 2019
 
Dementia Canterbury Street Appeal
to be advised
Nov 22, 2019
9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
 
View entire list
Meeting Responsibilities
Duty Roster 14th November 2019
 
Reception
Digby, Neville
 
Speakers Host
McFadden, Grant
 
Vote of Thanks
Courtney, Nick
 
Visitors Host
Dodd, Shona
 
Sergeant
Stringer, John
 
Meeting Set Up
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Banner Setup & Room Tidyup
Sedgley, Ron
 
Duty Roster 21st November 2019
 
Reception
Stringer, John
 
Speakers Host
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Vote of Thanks
Courtney, Liz
 
Visitors Host
Denhard, Gary
 
Sergeant
Davey, Barbara
 
Meeting Set Up
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Banner Setup & Tidyup
Sedgley, Ron
 
Duty Roster 28th November 2019
 
Reception
Spicer, Anne
 
Speakers Host
Hudson, Jim
 
Vote of Thanks
Costello, Cath
 
Visitors Host
Davey, Barbara
 
Sergeant
Wright, Max
 
Meeting Setup
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Banner Setup & Tidyup
Sedgley, Ron
 
Club Chat from Rotary Papanui
E: papanuirotary@gmail.com W: www.papanuirotary.org.nz
Apologies to rcpapologies@gmail.com      Chat Items to paice@xtra.co.nz
 
Centurions  $100 Payments to Riccarton Rotary Charitable Trust
Account number 03 1355 0516692 03.
In details area add your club name, initial and surname plus RI number.