Western News: September 14, 2023
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Thursday <strong>September</strong> <strong>14</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
9<br />
Mentors needed to support<br />
children with parents in jail<br />
• By Dylan Smits<br />
VOLUNTEERS ARE needed for<br />
a mentorship programme to help<br />
support children with a parent in<br />
prison.<br />
Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou is a<br />
national charity which cares for<br />
families of people serving prison<br />
or community sentences.<br />
There are an estimated 17,000<br />
children in New Zealand with a<br />
parent in prison.<br />
The mentorship programme<br />
connects them with an adult<br />
who can act as a confidant and<br />
friend.<br />
A Christchurch mother,<br />
whose children received<br />
mentoring while their father<br />
spent eight years in prison, spoke<br />
anonymously about the benefits<br />
of the programme.<br />
She said having her ex-partner<br />
in prison “brought so many<br />
challenges for our kids”.<br />
She was grateful for the<br />
support of Pillars, and said<br />
it “helped me rebuild the<br />
foundations of my wee family”.<br />
She said the mentors “gave my<br />
children a sense of normality<br />
as, until recently, I have reached<br />
a point I can answer their<br />
questions without falling apart”.<br />
HELP: WANTED Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou needs volunteers<br />
to mentor children with parents serving prison terms<br />
or community sentences.<br />
There is a waiting list with six<br />
children in the city who need<br />
mentors.<br />
Pillars general manager Tuhi<br />
Leef said there is a “greater need<br />
than ever” for volunteers.<br />
He said it is partly due to<br />
the pandemic, which put more<br />
distance between parents in jail<br />
and their family. This added to<br />
their emotional distress.<br />
Leef said there is an urgent<br />
need for male mentors who can<br />
help boys.<br />
“It’s often it’s dad that’s in<br />
prison. So having a positive male<br />
role model.”<br />
Without intervention, children<br />
of prisoners are more than nine<br />
times more likely to go prison<br />
than other children.<br />
Leef said mentors help change<br />
the statistics.<br />
“What they’re able to help do<br />
with these rangatahi [young<br />
people] is transformational.<br />
What we want for our whānau is<br />
positive, better outcomes.”<br />
To become a Pillars mentor,<br />
applicants must<br />
commit to at least<br />
12 months in the<br />
programme.<br />
Mentors<br />
meet with the<br />
child weekly or<br />
fortnightly for a<br />
Tuhi Leef<br />
catch up or fun<br />
outing.<br />
Danielle Moore<br />
is a 25-year-old PhD student at of<br />
Canterbury University. She has<br />
mentored a 17-year-old girl for<br />
the past six years.<br />
It has been rewarding for her.<br />
“I feel like I get the same out of<br />
it that she does,” Moore said.<br />
“Over the time she’s become,<br />
you know, a really close friend<br />
and someone that I’ve grown<br />
with since 19.”<br />
Moore said: “What we do has<br />
sort of developed overtime.”<br />
From connecting over their<br />
shared interest in art to helping<br />
study for NCEA, Moore has seen<br />
her grow throughout her teenage<br />
years.<br />
Recently they started going<br />
thrifting at second hand clothing<br />
stores together and discussing<br />
life after high school.<br />
“She can share anything with<br />
me – and she<br />
knows that.”<br />
Moore said the<br />
qualities needed<br />
to make a great<br />
Pillars mentor are<br />
patience, empathy<br />
and wanting to<br />
make a positive<br />
impact.<br />
“You’ve got to<br />
devote time to it.<br />
Danielle<br />
Moore<br />
“Someone that’s reliable and<br />
consistent, I think that’s a big<br />
thing.”<br />
•Potential mentors are<br />
interviewed and must<br />
pass reference and police<br />
checks before being<br />
matched with a suitable<br />
young person. To become<br />
a Pillars mentor, apply<br />
at www.pillars.org.nz/<br />
become-a-mentor<br />
Read local<br />
Sorry we’re in your way<br />
We’re making it safer to cycle in Ilam<br />
Expect delays on Ilam Road near Jellie Park,<br />
detours are in place.<br />
For details and to receive updates visit:<br />
ccc.govt.nz/norwestarc