Ranjna Patel
If you believe that Family Violence is becoming a menace and that all of us should concert our efforts to reduce its incidence and protect our women and children, you should then attend a fundraiser being held on Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 630 pm at Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre, located at 58 Waipuna Road, Mt Wellington in Auckland.
Sir John Kirwan, former All Blacks Player and Rugby Coach will be the Guest Speaker at the event organised by Gandhi Nivas to fund its activities including its three homes located in Otahuhu, Te Atatu and Papakura.
Funds are also required to finance counselling services at our newly established Gandhi Nivas in Papakura.
Sir John is a Westpac Ambassador and speaks openly about his battle with depression and has inspired people to combat mental issues.
Sponsorship and Tickets
Tickets priced at $150 plus GST per person and tables seating ten persons per table at $1500 plus GST per table are now available. If you wish to sponsor,
Please contact Sarita Chand on (09) 2747823 (Extension 9140); Email: sarita@thc.co.nz for tickets and further information.
About Gandhi Nivas
Gandhi Nivas is a partnership between Serenity Foundation, Counties Manukau Police and Sahaayta Counselling and Social Support. The partnership was established in 2014, using a Lotteries Commission grant and receives on-going funding from Total Healthcare PHO and other private funders.
The Concept
The concept grew from discussions between Counties Manukau Police and their South Asian Police Advisory Board with the objective of providing early intervention and prevention services to people identified as at the risk of committing family violence to help them change their behaviour, reduce the likelihood of further family harm and increase safety for families.
The Work of Gandhi Nivas
Gandhi Nivas supports men to change their behaviour, reducing the likelihood of further family harm and increasing safety for families.
Men who have either been issued with a Police Safety Order or are involved in police matters related to family harm are referred by the Police to Gandhi Nivas.
During the first year, our volunteers counselled 100 families with funding from the Lotteries Commission, Total Healthcare and the Nirvana Health Group.
The number of families counselled during the second year rose to 200.
In 2017, with secured ACC funding for counsellors, we were able to counsel 400 families, doing the full wrap-around services. Working with ACC for 12 months showed them the value of the Programme and hence we were able to secure funding for the second home in Te Atatu in West Auckland.
We are now working on the third home in Papakura, as our data shows the rural and south of Counties Manukau had have the highest referrals.
Since its inception, Gandhi Nivas has helped more than 1000 families belonging to 19 ethnicities in Auckland.
Major Social Problem
Family Violence is a major social problem globally, disempowering and paralysing women physically, psychologically, sexually and economically.
One in three women face some form of violence in their homes; every four minutes, Police are called to a Family Violence incident and Police believe that 12% of women actually make the call.
Although there are some organisations that cater to the needs of women and children, there was a need to shift focus on involving men in prevention strategies.
Services of these organisations are usually provided during the working week (Monday to Friday) hours, while most incidents occur in the evenings and on weekends.
Our data for 2018 shows that Indians and Fijian Indians feature heavily in the statistics for the services offered by Gandhi Nivas.
Useful Statistics
People of Indian origin constitute less than 4% of New Zealand’s population but the utilisation of Gandhi Nivas is by 23% men referred.
This is a positive development as it demonstrates that more men of Indian origin are seeking help and counselling and are keen to change.
Of all the men issued with Police Safety Orders, only 12% take up the offer of counselling; hence, a large number of Indian men proactively seeking help is a big change in behaviour. This is a small percentage in the big picture of Family Harm, but it is a start.
The leadership of the New Zealand Police and ACC as Public partners willing to work with communities is an innovative and a laudable initiative.
The joint efforts of the Police, Sahaayta Counselling Services and the support of ACC have made this Programme an exemplar in dealing with early intervention in Family Harm.
Ranjna Patel is Chairperson of Gandhi Nivas based in Auckland. A Governance Board monitors its activities and shapes its policies and programmes.
*
Photo Caption:
- Jacinda Ardern (now Prime Minister) with (from left) Sucharita Varma, Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Ranjna Patel during her visit to Gandhi Nivas in Otahuhu in 2016. (File Photo)
- Bill English (the then Prime Minister) with some members of the Governance Board, counsellors, volunteers and guests at Gandhi Nivas Otahuhu in 2017. (File Photo)
