Stratford Justices of the Peace ready to serve the community

From left: Kim Marsh, Donna van den Beuken, Lynsi Latham-Saunders, Julie Erwood, and Bradley Chubb. Absent: Mary Stanley

Stratford's newest Justices of the Peace are ready to serve the community.

While Kim Marsh, and Lynsi Latham-Saunders were sworn in last year, Bradley Chubb, Donna van den Beuken and Julie Erwood were sworn in this year.

Julie says she became a JP to serve the community.

"I'm on a number of committees because I enjoy giving back to people. This is another way I can do that."

Donna says helping the community is important.

"I enjoy giving back to the community I live in. Julie and I are part of Team HOPE and other community groups. We were talking one day and we both mentioned how becoming a JP was something we were interested in."

Lynsi says her focus is to be accessible.

"I've observed that Māori people don't tend to go to the service desk. I've offered to have sessions at the Whakaahurangi Marae to offer people my JP services. I'm very focused on helping those who need it."

Bradley says his goal is to support others.

"It's important to me to give back to the town which has given me many opportunities."

Kim says by having more JPs the workload is shared.

"I joined to serve the community and to also relieve the pressure from the existing JPs. By having more people the workload is shared out more."

Julie says there is a supportive network for the JPs.

"We're paired up with a buddy who help us when we have questions and offer us guidance. The existing JPs have a wealth of knowledge and they're always ready to help answer any questions we have."

Lynsi says by being a JP, she has met people from all walks of life.

"I've met some amazing people who I otherwise might have not met. It's very socially connecting. The important thing for people to know is that we're there to help, we're just members of the community and we're approachable."

Justices of the Peace services are free. They can help people with witnessing signatures on documents, certify copies of documents (including email attachments and phone messages), take oaths, declarations, affidavits or affirmations, and confirm identity.