"Giving the knowledge and faith that good things do happen and that life is not one long stream of difficulties and setbacks.”
Sexual Abuse
(extract from a letter, Victim Support to Caniwi Trust)
“I am seeking some help for J. for her to move forward in her life. She has suffered more than any child and teenager should have to suffer and I’m asking the Caniwi Trust if you can help J. in her future. J. suffered sexual, emotional and mental abuse from her step father. In 2005 J. and her mother finally were able to escape the house and sought refuge in a safe house. Her step father was subsequently sentenced to 5 years prison.
After he served 2 and a half years of his sentence the step father applied for Parole. I assisted J. and her mother to complete a Parole submission. Parole was denied and he served a further 12 months before being released.
J’s life has been greatly affected by this experience and has struggled to deal with issues as she is still trying to understand why she had fallen victim to this abuse. Because of the ongoing abuse J. began to have learning difficulties at school which she never could talk to anyone about. This led to J. leaving college early in her year 12 year. She had successfully achieved NCEA Level 1 the year before.
I am asking the Caniwi Trust if you can give a leg up to J, to help her move just another few steps in life that will give her the knowledge and faith that good things do happen and that life is not one long stream of difficulties and setbacks.”
The Caniwi Trust paid $6,000 towards the costs of bridging courses and enrolment at university.
Homicide
(Service Co-ordinator)
“Some of the whanau lived in Rotorua and the trial was in Wellington. We didn’t actually get the referral from the local police until the whanau came into the station. We organised their travel and a motel in Wellington, booked their tickets and made sure someone from the Wellington office met them at the airport. They couldn’t afford to do this by themselves. The victim grants covered all their costs in Wellington for both the trial and sentencing.”
Parole Support
(Service Co-ordinator)
“With the offender coming up for Parole the victim was worried that if she wrote to the Parole Board he would find out her address. We were able to reassure her about that and also let her know that if she wanted we could get a grant to cover all the costs of going up to Wellington for the hearing. We helped her do that and prepare what she wanted to say. It meant she could take the time to travel without any loss of income. Because she was very scared we also worked with the Police and got a panic alarm installed for her.”
