Mother takes fight to Oranga Tamariki
Glaring up at Oranga Tamariki’s office windows, Bronwyn Ngatai – pictured – yelled her warning: ‘‘I’m only going to get harder.’’
The single parent from Porirua led a protest in Porirua CBD yesterday against the organisation’s decision not to increase funding for Stand Children’s Services by an extra $3 million – money needed to keep its health camps running.
She’s already launched an online petition – it’s got 1522 signatures and counting – urging a rethink of the decision which saw Stand close its children’s villages in O¯ taki, north of Wellington, and the Central Otago town of Roxburgh.
She and a handful of others – including her 12-year-old son, who lives with severe ADHD and posttraumatic stress disorder among other illnesses – waved placards urging a rethink.
She warned the number of children with these issues was increasing, and many ended up getting into trouble with police or other agencies if there wasn’t enough support early on.
In a statement, Stand Chief Executive Dr Fiona Inkpen said the organisation would continue its intensive family wraparound services in the central and southern regions, just not the camps.
Oranga Tamariki general manager of partnerships Peter Galvin said all affected families were moved to Stand’s other services after the O¯ taki Village site closed on June 30.
‘‘We are taking steps to follow up with the mother to ensure she is made aware of the support available to her,’’ he said.
Oranga Tamariki was asked for an extra $3m on top of $18.1m already committed to Stand.