Dane Haskell is the co-ordinator for Taranaki Safe Families Trust.
Dane Haskell is the co-ordinator for Taranaki Safe Families Trust.
If someone had told me six months ago the world was about to be turned upside down to an unprecedented state of panic and uncertainty, I would have thought they were having me on. But here we are in May 2020 moving through emergency levels, trying to get back tosome sort of normality, which almost seems as if it will never actually be the same again.
Before the lockdown, it was predicted family violence reports to police would spike to record levels. For Taranaki, that was true for the first two weeks of the lockdown with more callouts than usual.
It then levelled off for weeks three to four and spiked again through weeks five to six, going into level 3. There seems to be an increase when we move from one level to another, so it's critical we stay vigilant, even going into level 2 and then level 1.
The Covid-19 outbreak has at the very least brought to the surface some key awareness messaging for us all to acknowledge.
It's given us a severe wake-up call about taking life for granted, but also a chance to come together and change the way we do some things. For example, it's great there has been an increased awareness for our most vulnerable groups in society, particularly the elderly. The real shame is that it shouldn't take a worldwide pandemic for us to realise this.
We should be supporting our older community members anyway, pandemic or not. The challenge for our community is to continue this way of thinking even after everything returns to normal.
Elder Abuse Awareness week is coming up in June, and it's a great opportunity to carry on the momentum already gathered. You could visit or set up regular events with older family members; get to know your neighbours and find out if they have sufficient support.
Otherwise it can include something as simple as giving a friendly smile when seeing a stranger on the street. Local family violence services are diligently working as best they can with limited capacity, and are opening up services as we move through the levels. They are all still available if required.
Check out the Taranaki Safe Families Trust website https://www.taranakisafefamilies.org.nz/ for relevant services or if you need any other advice you can contact TSFT email – tsft@xtra.co.nz
