March 20, 2019
Whānau Ora helping Ōtautahi grieving
FULL INTERVIEW HELEN LEAHY CLICK HERE
The head of South Island Whānau Ora Commissioning agency says there is a huge amount of work for community social service agencies in the aftermath of the Christchurch terror attacks.
Helen Leahy says Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu has been helping the Muslim community where it can, but there are other groups also affected.
It is working across the generations, from a 6-year-old Indian girl having nightmares about whether it will be her next, through to a Muslim grandmother who has removed visible signs of her faith from her home.
"That sort of thing just tears at your heart really when you think the essence of who you are, you’re having to hide because you’re scared that’s going to make you subject to an attack,"Ms Leahy says.
She says the events of the past few days are triggering memories of the earthquakes, the Port Hill fires and other traumatic events, and people need to look after each other at this time.
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