I have been a social worker since 2005 and began leading the team in Clutha at the end of 2022. Most of my work has been supporting children and families in some way or other such as child protection, school social work, and supporting foster parents with high-needs young people. I’m always looking to keep the needs of the child at the forefront of planning and intervention and I’m always asking my team to think about what the impact on the kids is and how our involvement will make life better for them.
I did my social work qualifications through Otago University as a post graduate. My bachelor’s degree was in primary teaching and although I enjoyed teaching and loved the time and interactions with kids, throughout my placements I became more and more aware that there were issues like poverty, family harm and trauma, that impacted on kids’ ability to learn and just be at school in the first place. I really wanted to do something about addressing those underlying needs so that is how I came into social work and I haven’t looked back since.
The opportunity to support a team doing work that we are passionate about and makes a difference. Hearing about how parents and families have benefitted from our involvement, whether it be parenting, safety planning, specific courses, information, support or connecting to other services – these ‘success’ stories are extremely motivating for me and the team!
Living in Southland means I get to travel and see the countryside during the week so outside of work, I enjoy being involved in activities closer to home and am usually following through on family commitments. I love the beach, reading and my church community but if I’m honest, I really do spend way too much time playing ‘Fishdom’.
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