Barnardos Whanganui closing for good later this month

Families still using the supervised contact service will be transitioned to other providers. Photo / 123rf

Children's charity Barnardos will close the doors of its Whanganui office for the last time later this month.

Its "main mahi" in the city was a supervised contact service, Barnardos service manager for Whanganui, Manawatū and Horowhenua Mary McDavitt said, but the decision to shut that operation down across the North Island meant it was no longer viable to keep the local office open.

"This was a very difficult decision," McDavitt said.

"It [supervised contact] has been a long running service and we've supported a lot of families through what is quite an emotional time for parents and children.

"There is a huge sadness that we will no longer be involved in this space in the North Island."

Supervised contact allows a child to spend time with a parent or family member they don't have day–to–day contact with.

Barnardos staff are present at all meetings.

McDavitt said when the service was at its peak, around 45 families used it in Whanganui each year.

"We have been very careful with the Family Court to transition the families we still have to other providers.

"There are five or six families at this point."

The charity operated in a constrained funding environment which placed pressure on the
range of services it provided, McDavitt said.

"This service is currently requiring a significant amount of additional resource to run, making it unsustainable for our organisation.

"We have been through a process to look at alternative ways to continue but were unable to find a way to do so.

"I feel sad for the children particularly, and the families in that situation. We have provided an over-and-above service and we can't do that anymore."

The quality of the service was not in question and the team of contact supervisors, led by Cris Rukuwai, was extremely experienced, skilled and passionate about the service they had delivered to whānau and tamariki, McDavitt said.

Barnados service manager for Whanganui, Manawatū and Horowhenua, Mary McDavitt. Photo / Supplied

The outbreak of Covid-19 had also impacted the service.

"It's about physical contact and obviously there wasn't any. That was a huge factor, but not the only one," McDavitt said.

"There was just a perfect storm of events, I suppose."

Supervised contact services in Napier, Palmerston North, Auckland and Hamilton are also shutting down.

Barnardos Whanganui's sole social worker will now be based out of Palmerston North.

"There is still a potential to serve Whanganui families in that capacity but it won't be a huge capacity," McDavitt said.

Another local service - parenting through separation courses - will still be available.

"Again that's an emotional time to go through. The course is designed around putting your child first," McDavitt said.

"There is one more face-to-face course in Whanganui but for the rest of the year they will
operate from Palmerston or via Zoom."

McDavitt said there was still the capacity to maintain face-to-face courses in Whanganui and a decision on whether to continue them would be made early next year.

Barnardos Whanganui currently has a staff of two permanent and four casual staff.

"The casual staff are an amazing bunch of wāhine but we won't have work for them in Whanganui," McDavitt said.

"That's just not achievable from Palmerston North, especially with petrol prices the way they are.

"Our other services are up and healthy around the motu."

The Whanganui Barnardos office closes on October 23.