Tagged With "State gets it wrong"
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Before ACES there was the work of Dr Bessel van der Kolk
This book arrived on my mobile phone via my local library. As I listened to this book, many, many, many things that Bessel shared resonated with me. Warning some people will get retriggered.... I did. I cried because suddenly I found someone who understood my journey. I needed to get informed to find another path to take on my journey - This book helped to inform me It was the right path for me https://www.overdrive.com/media/1438715/the-body-keeps-the-score
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NZ ~ Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions
The Royal Commission of Inquiry are looking into what happened to children, young people and vulnerable adults in State and faith-based care in Aoteoroa New Zealand between the years 1950-99. They may also listen to survivor experiences before and after these dates. The inquiry is considered to be the largest in the world given its scope and terms of reference Why have an Inquiry? Many people and organisations - survivors, community leaders, iwi and Māori, the Human Rights Commission and the...
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Luma Mufleh's Ted Talk: Don't feel sorry for refugees ~ believe in them
I recommend this for you to see this Ted Talk: Don't feel sorry for refugees ~ believe in them Luma shares her life journey in a powerful way. She shares valuable comments "Don't ever think that people are beneath you or that you have nothing to learn from others." "I thought it would get better. That no one could force me from me to leave. Thay no one could take my home from me. We left because we had to, not because we wanted to There was no choice" "The issue shouldn't be stopping...
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Intergenerational poverty, racism and trauma in New Zealand
To many, New Zealand looks like and sounds like an island paradise with the world's most charismatic leader. New Zealand is a beautiful country with beautiful people and a beautiful leader. It hides our reality of intergenerational poverty, racism and trauma with high rates of child abuse, child poverty, bullying in schools, suicide and family harm. Maori, the indigenous peoples of NZ and Pacific Peoples are over-represented in those statistics. We have known this for years as have...
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They "think" they know what it is like ~ They don't
Anita Baker, Mayor of Porirua, NZ made the statement when discussing child poverty in NZ : They "think" they know what it is like. They don't In NZ, we have many vulnerable people who are marginalised because of who they are and who they are not. Their culture, their beliefs, their ability, their disability, the colour of their skin, the country they come from, their identity. Kevin McLeod uses the term "otherness". I see "otherness" happening right here in NZ, our paradise in the pacific.
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We learn from the stories from those who have gone before us
Who we were is not who we are now Incarcerated youth need more guidance and support to uncover their inner selves So that they understand who they are and why they do what they have done Then they need guidance and support to learn how to forgive themselves for doing what they believed they had to do to survive. They need to learn how to care and love themselves So that they can care and love others. Books can expose us to the thinking and life journeys of others Books can show us how we can...
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INSPIRE TECHNICAL PACKAGE ~ Free introductory webinar
Violence affects up to 1 in 2 children every year, with devastating acute and long-term consequences. Yet, we know that violence can be prevented, we have the tools to do so, and SDG Target 16.2 calls for ending violence against children. The INSPIRE: Seven strategies for ending violence against children technical package is a collection of evidence-based recommendations on how to prevent and respond to violence against children, including I mplementation and enforcement laws; N orms and...
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Protected Factor Framework ~ Free introductory webinar
I attended the Protected Factors Framework Introduction webinar with Elizabeth Smith from Project Whole Child. It was a very good presentation. Very interactive, great video clip and great slides There is another free webinar - closing date Wednesday 16 December USA time Places are limited I recommend that you register for this if you want to know more about what you can do to strengthen families. The Protected Factors Framework is an approach ~ a way of viewing the world When we change the...
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Why I joined ACES CONNECTION
Kia ora from Auckland, NZ. My name is Adriana. I am the community manager of trauma-informed NZ with ACES CONNECTION. ACES CONNECTION, is based in the States, far from New Zealand, and our way of life, yet, I am the community manager of a community with ACES CONNECTION Today, I am going to share with you, my reasons for joining ACES CONNECTION. I will make a call for action at the end of my talk, so please stay to the end Why did I join ACES CONNECTION? Here is my story. I live in NZ, always...
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A compelling reason why we need to be child-centered and trauma-responsive in NZ
For those who do not know: Child, Youth and Family Services and Oranga Tamariki are NZ's child protection services. They are a government agency I found this article in the Herald from 2016 , it clearly shows how Oranga Tamariki's predecessors, Child, Youth, and Family Services(CYFS) are incompetent and placed children at risk of harm. Child, Youth, and Family Services were rebranded as Oranga Tamariki, Ministry of Children and still they get it wrong. The article Two children aged 8 years...
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New Zealand Human Rights violations known to the United Nations
I have PTSD. It is an invisible disability. It took me years to accept that I had mental health issues and it took longer for me to accept that I was a person with a disability. I have faced layers of trauma from what others have done to me. Those "others" included those who had a responsibility to protect me. They were not just people I loved but people who held positions of power and they were paid and employed by the NZ government to protect me. They did not They effectively used their...
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Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Human Rights in New Zealand ~ Are they working?
New Zealand's Human Rights system is bound byTe Tiriti o Waitangi. Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840 by the Crown and Maori. It is legally binding and acknowledged internationally as a constitutional document. Many do not know about He Whakaputanga o te Rangitiratanga o Nu Tireni, our Declaration of Independence which was signed five years earlier by more Maori on 28 October 1835. He Whakaputanga o te Rangitiratanga o Nu Tirene is weaved into Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is...
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Bad things happen to GOOD people in NZ
Bad things happen to GOOD people I stood behind Sam because I support him You need to as well Sam's story is so unbelievable that you may think it did not happen I can say that I have seen the evidence It is all true It shows how Oranga Tamariki social workers inaccurately labeled Sam based on his appearance and shared that inaccurate information with other agencies to split his family apart while he and his partner were facing the imminent death of their son, Titaha This was an abuse of...
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Silence divides us. Speaking up unifies us
Silence divides us Speaking up unites us By speaking up By telling our stories We are seen and heard By listening we discover we are not alone The media has a responsibility to report the truth To give people the opportunity to speak up So that the public is informed Sadly, many of our major media providers in NZ do not report many stories of child abuse and harm to our children and harm done to parents who protect their children and to advocates fighting to address the harm done to our...
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#LETMEBE
Kia ora to all, In response to a call for support from a mother who has had her young daughter taken away from her based on inaccurate information, the hearsay of others and judgement by lawyers and judges in the NZ Family Court, I am asking you to join with me in a campaign that she has started here in NZ Here is her post on Facebook: Melissa Stewart I may have screwed up as a girlfriend, wife, Mum and sometimes as a daughter or as a friend, because I don't always say or do the "right...
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I am learning to Self-Regulate ~ I am learning to STOP
I have PTSD. It sounds scary and many people judge me and sometimes fear me It does not help when I get dysregulated because I get loud, aggressive, and send out words of my truth like daggers. My truth, my message no matter how insightful and valuable is LOST in translation as I watch the walls go up over the ears of the recipients ~ the very ones that I want to LISTEN to me. Delivery of the message counts, people, more than it should. Human nature dictates that it does. The anger that I...
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What is the Freeze Response from Dr. Aimie, Trauma Healing Accelerated
This arrived in my Gmail inbox from Dr. Aimie ~ Trauma Healing Accelerated. I am sharing as it may resonate with someone out there What is The Freeze Response? The pattern of stress and then collapse. High energy and then exhausted. Anxiety followed by heaviness and feeling down. If you identify with this up and down pattern, you may likely be experiencing a chronic freeze response. This is a very common pattern of the biology of the nervous system! The freeze response is one of the states...
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Maternal Voice reduces pain in premature babies
Notice and read this article: Maternal Voice Reduces Pain in Premature Babies Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Pain August 27, 2021 This is especially for all employees of Oranga Tamariki (Child protection services in NZ), NZ Family Court judges, and NZ Lawyers for Children Get informed with scientific evidence Work harder at getting trauma-responsive Babies need to be kept with their mothers at birth, from birth and onwards If you want the best for our children...
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The danger of Flashbacks
The danger of flashbacks is that once you are back there, You can get stuck and Never find a way out. That is why we need strategies To find our way out again When you are with a person especially children who are facing flashbacks Please show us kindness and compassion And if you have absolutely no idea about what I am saying Please educate yourself If there is anything that is going to help us ALL to get unstuck Is empathy and that means EVERYONE knows about trauma and what it is like...
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Anger can be helpful in driving change
Anger can be helpful in driving change Read the article by: Chloe Young, Kat Williams, & Scott R. Stroud, Ph.D. Media Ethics Initiative Center for Media Engagement University of Texas at Austin Snippets from the article: Macalster Bell discusses how most literature on feminist moral psychology and philosophy defends anger in four ways: (1) Calling out wrongdoing and oppression, (2) disvaluing the disvaluable, (3) motivating overall social change, and (4) providing new knowledge about the...
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I have PTSD - That does not mean I can't be a good parent
Through my work as an advocate, I have met many people who, like me, have PTSD. I have PTSD because people made the choice to hurt me so bad that I now live with that every day. I live with trauma. The thing is I survived. I made the decision to pick myself up, to stand again, reset and keep moving forward. I now face many, many people including professionals who believe, erroneously, that I am my trauma. This is especially true in NZ because, in my country that I love so much, far too many...
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Mia Mingus ~ Leaving Evidence
@Umi Asaka kindly shared this short sound clip (3:29min) with me. As I read it I thought came floating gently into my head Interview between Mia Mingus and Alice Wong 23 August 2014 This is a short audio clip from an interview of Mia Mingus, activist, and writer, conducted by Alice Wong, Project Coordinator of the Disability Visibility Project at StoryCorps San Francisco on August 23, 2014. Text transcript: Alice: In your blog, Leaving Evidence, this passage really resonated with me. You...
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Lake Alice ~ What New Zealand did to their own
(Blog image of Paul Zentveld - Lake Alice abuse survivor) Read this NZ Stuff article by Aaron Smale I ask that you reflect on your definition of mental health Your definition of mental health will determine how you respond to people with mental health The term "mental health" does not need to change Our perceptions, our definition, our response to the term "mental health" needs to change. Once I said that we need to take away the term "mental health" and replace it with another term. I...
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The Lake ~ Uncovering the Truth Lake Alice New Zealand
Many thanks to Stuff and Popsock Media , investigative journalist AARON SMALE for all the hard work you have done in order to get THE LAKE series released. Lake Alice was a psychiatric hospital between Whanganui and Palmerston North in New Zealand. Lake Alice is effectively isolated as it can be found in the middle of farmland. Nowhere to run. Noone to see. Noone to hear. Lake Alice was a place for both adults and children with "psychiatric problems" including children with bad behaviour. It...
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The Humpty Dumpty of New Zealand needs help
Whakarongo mai whānau! CYFS is the Humpty Dumpty of New Zealand I am oppositional defiant When I hear the words "Can't" and "Impossible" I say We can do When you believe you make the seemingly impossible Possible Social workers working for CYFS create many of the problems that families, parents and children face in New Zealand. All professionals know this: In order to understand why we have CYFS social workers that are not following best practices, we need to know about the supports that...
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Re: The Humpty Dumpty of New Zealand needs help
Kia ora @anne kurtz My words are my action. To empower people with knowledge If you want to change, and we all want change. We need to get informed. We need to call it out Use the knowledge to take action. Use the complaints process to take action Use the Social Workers Registration Board to make complaints about individual social workers Send emails to the relevant agencies to raise your concerns and to provide solutions Send emails to the Minister of Children ~ Kelvin Davis Share this...
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Find the WHY to know WHAT to do
Once you find the WHY Then you can find the WHAT WHY the behaviour WHAT I NEED TO DO In order to address a problem In order to address a behaviour You need to find out WHY it is happening That requires a thorough ecological assessment The collection of evidence from a number of sources Analysing the evidence To see if it matches If the evidence does not match You have to go and find more evidence TRUTH is when you get the same message From all sources When you have the TRUTH Then you can...
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Support our mothers to be the best that they can be
Mothers need our support and guidance to become the best mother that they can be for their children Social workers and principals/teachers in New Zealand MUST use best practices in order to keep those they work with, both children and their parents safe Currently, there are far too many social workers and principals/teachers that do not use best practices causing significant harm to our parents and their children. Sadly, many professionals using bad practices are women, many are mothers.
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The SYSTEM will not include us
Tēnā Koutou katoa Greetings to many I have not posted for a long time. I have been busy spending time with our survivors of abuse in State Care and rebuilding my relationship with Oranga Tamariki In short, working to heal the harm. Over the past 3 days, I attended the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in State Care hearings to listen to the Institutional responses of State agencies to abuse in care I made daily posts to my LinkedIn network I am going to share those posts here with you to...
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Re: NZ Education system ~ We have no systemic racism
Adriana when can we meet in person? Anne
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NZ Education system ~ We have no systemic racism
Iona Holsted, Chief Executive and Secretary for Education said in her response on behalf of the Ministry of Education that she does not acknowledge that our NZ education system has systemic racism . This was later endorsed by Nicholas Pole, Chief Executive and Chief Reviewer of the Education Review Office, in his response on behalf of the Education Review Office. I may have gotten it wrong. I don't think so, as I was there at the hearing. Sadly, our media did not pick up on this, and it was...
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Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in State Care
I am attending the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in State Care hearing at Newmarket. I am listening to the Institutional Responses ~ Responses from the representatives of our State agencies. I will be sharing my thoughts on LinkedIn and also information from the media I believe that this is an important space as it shows the importance of using a trauma-informed approach to heal the harm and to move forward WITH the survivors. Our State agencies need to share their power with us by...
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Re: Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in State Care
So what's new. That's been the story from day 1 because they know they can. Tight lipped, closed lip, control, it's worked in the past, so why change? It's the way "we do things". Anne I did not know one could watch the proceedings from Newmarket?
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Re: Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in State Care
KIa ora Anne, Hearings are open to the public The State Institutional Response public hearing will take place from 15-26 August 2022 at Level 2, 414 Khyber Pass Road, Newmarket, Tāmaki Makaurau. It will be open to the public and live streamed on the Royal Commission’s website. The responses of State agencies to the abuse and neglect of children, young people and vulnerable adults will be examined by the Royal Commission of Inquiry in an upcoming public hearing that will run from 15 to 26...
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Re: Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in State Care
Adriana Hi- Will you send your cellphone number please. Thanks, Anne
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Re: Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in State Care
Hi Anne, My contact details 027 ADRIANA 027 2374262 Child Education Advocate Neuro-authentic ( What's this ?) Pronouns: she/her ( What's this ?) Email 1: adriana@childadvocacy.nz Email 2: adrianavanaltvorst@gmail.com Paces Connection: Trauma-responsive NZ YouTube: Child Advocacy NZ Facebook: Child Advocacy NZ Mobile: (+64 27 2374262)
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Ironically, tomorrow Maori "celebrate" Waitangi Day and yet....
Ironically, tomorrow Maori "celebrate" Waitangi Day and yet...our people and our children continue to be over-represented in statistics that show that they face barriers to accessing quality education. Waitangi Day "celebrates" the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi on 6 February 1840. An agreement signed between representatives of the British Crown and more than 500 Māori chiefs. British Crown versus Māori Tomorrow is 6 February 2023 183 years Despite Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and all the plethora...
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Ironically, Maori are expected to "celebrate" Waitangi Day and yet....#2
The following is the journey of yet another mother trying to get her son access to quality education for her son here in New Zealand Yes, Maori again Her journey is totally unacceptable and we continue to WAIT for professionals to resolve the issues This is how Maori are treated here in New Zealand We are expected to be grateful for what we get and to "celebrate" Waitangi Day on 6 February 2023 183 years later and this is the best our NZ education system can offer our people? As Maori, we...
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Re: Ironically, Maori are expected to "celebrate" Waitangi Day and yet....#2
@anne kurtz it is important for me to raise awareness of how our children and parents are treated by our education system here in NZ. If I did not share my concerns and if I did not complain then we would not get change and these parents plight would go unseen and unheard Complaints drive transformational change I will continue to raise my concerns I do it to honour the people I work with I ensure that their struggles are not done in vain - that their hardship WILL make change. They will be...
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Ironically, we "celebrate" Waitangi Day and yet.... Abuse in State Care
This post is to honour all survivors from State Care of NZ including Māori and Non-Māori My post is lengthy to acknowledge their long hard arduous journey to seek justice and they too continue to WAIT Te Tiriti o Waitangi protects both Māori and Non-Māori citizens of New Zealand. Initially, I worked with both Māori and non-Māori whanau who struggled to access quality education for their children. I now work with whanau who are significantly harmed by the actions of representatives...
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Ironically, today we "celebrate" Waitangi Day and yet....The case of a father that loved his children
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is to protect both Māori and non-Māori. This post is to honour a father who lost almost everything in his pursuit to protect his children from harm and to ensure they accessed quality education because he loved them This post is to honour all fathers who are denied their right to be a father simply because they are men. New Zealand is a nation that is like a pendulum. We move between polar opposites. We can't seem to find balance. In days gone by, women were once...
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Ironically, today we "celebrate" Waitangi Day and yet....The case of a father that loved his children
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is to protect both Māori and non-Māori. This post is to honour a father who lost almost everything in his pursuit to protect his children from harm and to ensure they accessed quality education because he loved them This post is to honour all fathers who are denied their right to be a father simply because they are men. New Zealand is a nation that is like a pendulum. We move between polar opposites. We can't seem to find balance. In days gone by, women were once...
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How do I contribute to the state of our education system in New Zealand?
Life learnings for today Many of those I support Those facing schools that target their children Clarification of target: Effectively actions the school uses to discriminate against children in a way that the children know that they are different and that difference is not acceptable to them, the school Whanau (family) often face these types of responses Group 1: Shut up and put up - stop complaining and it will go away Group 2: You or your kid must have done something wrong ~ You deserve it...
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Wahoo traction ~ NZ is reaching out to get Trauma Informed
I attended Global Resiliency Accelerator group on Tuesday 7 March 2023 at 6 am NZTime hosted by Warren Larkin and Becky Haas. I was smiling this morning ~ Great News I heard New Zealanders are reaching out to attend Trauma-informed programmes and Warren Larkin has visited New Zealand to work with others here in NZ Warren Larkin shared this report with us this morning He Oranga Ngakau ~ Maori Approaches to Trauma-Informed Care He Oranga Ngākau is a research project funded by the Health...
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Through death comes learning and growth
Warning: it may be triggering Below is a link to an article from the NZ Herald today It triggered me Because I have lived it Many others have too We remained silent Thanks to the NZ Herald journalist, Carolyn Meng-Yee And his wife lives on with her memories I hope that Pua's wife gets all the support she needs I thank her for having the courage and strength to share her journey with us So that we can take time to reflect and learn I am sending her all my aroha and awhi to surround her to...
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Transparency trumps Legal Privilege - Judge Mallon Pike River Mine NZ
Transparency trumps Legal Privilege - Judge Mallon Pike River Mine I believe this decision is monumental for those seeking accountability from the State TV One News had an exclusive on this story For those living in NZ: Watch TV One news at six Sunday 26 March 2023 on TVNZ on demand The ruling will be discussed on the Breakfast Show on TV One on 27 March 2023 from 7.06 am Transparency is in the best interests of Justice to ensure the integrity of the administration of Justice is seen to be...
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Woodworking and Hugs: Inside the Mental Health Movement for Men (reasonstobecheerful.com)
Credit: MSUK To read MaryLou Costa's article, please click here. Recognizing that “m en will talk shoulder to shoulder, but not necessarily face to face,” Men’s Sheds give guys a space to tinker while they open up — and heal. “While you’re doing this, you’ve got to concentrate on what you’re doing. And it takes your mind off other issues, and for those couple of hours, you kind of relax. Once you start feeling better, it’s like dropping a pebble in the water, and those ripples come back out,...