Will You Share the Journey?

22nd of March, 2016

Every year in Canterbury, thousands of children and young people are traumatised by family violence. Many of them come through our doors, needing support. But it’s the ones who we don’t see who really worry me. I wonder, what will their futures be like?

At Aviva, we want every child to be safe and happy; I’m sure you do too. The good news is that together we can make that happen.

It happened for Cathy^*. Her home was so unsafe that by 11 she had been placed in care 13 times. She came to live with Robyn*, her foster-mother at nine and by then “she had an acute sense of ‘aloneness’ and was anxious - and at times overwhelmed - when she talked about her life experiences”.

Cathy undertook Aviva’s 10-week Tamariki education programme; it made all the difference.

“As the weeks went by, we could see visible changes in her, especially her awareness that she was ‘not alone’ in having a family with family violence issues” says Robyn. “That insight brought her a great sense of relief, as did the understanding of how those experiences might have impacted her life.”

With your help, we are here 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, to provide support. Over 1,000 children, women and men in Canterbury come through our doors every year; last year, we received almost 4,000 calls for support. Supporting people like Cathy and her family through some of the most difficult times of their lives and being part of their journey is a privilege, but we can’t do it alone.

This April we are holding our annual appeal, including a street appeal. If you can, please join our street appeal to raise funds and awareness of family violence, or choose to support one of our services for children, women and men.

You can you be part of someone’s journey too.

Thank you.

Nicola,

CEO

Image courtesy of Pixabay

*Not their real names