Social workers receive recognition

For Chantelle Walker, she has job satisfaction every time she sees a youth in trouble with the law turn a corner and make positive changes for themselves.

The 30-year-old Child, Youth and Family Youth Justice worker, who works with troubled Maori youth aged 11 to 17, was one of two local workers who received awards in the annual Shining Star Awards run internally for staff.

The awards were held at Te Mahoia o Pakerangi (Rotorua's Youth Justice Facility) for National Social Workers' Day yesterday. Twelve staff from around the region received awards.

Ms Walker won the award for working with Maori families. Her nomination said she went beyond the call of duty in advancing young people and their whanau. The other award recipient from the Rotorua office was Jenn Nairn, an administration worker who supported staff in the office and Whakatane social worker Melissa Pye received an award for her innovative outcomes.

Ms Walker has been a social worker for 3 years, the past 2 with Child, Youth and Family.

"Every time I see a young person turn a corner and how that can influence their friends positively is something I really enjoy."

In her nomination of Ms Walker, Tahu Nehua said the social worker was like the energiser bunny when it came to supporting the youth and their families "leaving no stone unturned" in the quest to help them turn their lives around.

"Although her clients may stumble and fall from time to time, I have witnessed Chantelle's drive to harness her clients' strengths and core attributes to pick themselves up when they fall and to determine their own destiny."

Jenn Nairn is a cheerful person who works quietly and calmly with a professional demeanour in the back to support front-line staff, her nomination states.

During the awards, local operations manager Sue Critchley said while it was easy to lose hope, without the dedication of those who worked with the children and their families and stuck with them through the rough times, nothing would get better for the children. "It's one of the hardest jobs in the world," she said.