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Sebco feature In today’s Guardian P13
ASHBURTON
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Splash of colour
The rainbow arrived at Lake Hood yesterday when hundreds of people were showered with coloured powder as they took part in a fundraising run for the CanInspire Trust.
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PHOTO ROBYN HOOD 020417-RH-075
No anti-bullying funds BY MICHELLE NELSON
MICHELLE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
Government funding for community-based programmes which address bullying is unlikely to be reinstated, Safer Ashburton manager Kevin Clifford says. The highly success Think First anti-bullying campaign, which was overseen by Safer Ashburton, came to the end of its funding life last July. “It was only ever intended to run for three years, there’s no ongoing funding or any intent to re-
place it at this stage,” Clifford said. The likelihood of reinstating funding diminished further with the launch of the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki, replacing the Child, Youth and Family agency. “I think their focus will be going to the higher needs children, I don’t think we will see a funding package available in the community to do that very early intervention work,” Clifford said. “It doesn’t mean there won’t be anything available in the future,
but there’s nothing on the horizon.” Clifford said the Think First anti-bullying initiative raised awareness in the community and reached its target audience well. “The resources still exist but without the person out there putting it in the media and through the social media networks – that’s not to say groups couldn’t get together and use those resources to re-launch some of those initiatives in the community. “That (Think First) funding
was an acknowledgement that bullying happens in the community and things that happen in the community flow over into schools. The initial incidents often happen outside the school yard or through social media.” Think First co-ordinator John Hobbs was tasked with building a community approach to tackling social problems such as bullying. “It’s a real shame that’s not there any more,” Clifford said. Safer Ashburton, along with other agencies, deliver a range of
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services with supporting victims and dealing with the perpetrators of bullying, however the buck often stopped in homes where bullying was prevalent. “Parents are role models – the way people speak to each other and treat each other in the home has an impact on how young people behave,” Clifford said. “It might not always be coming from home – some of our sport heroes exhibit some fairly appalling behaviour, but it is being role modelled somewhere.”
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