Northland DHB supports march against family violence

Northland DHB is backing a march against violence being held in Whangarei on Sunday 22 May – part of a nationwide series of ‘March for Moko’ events prompted by the death of three-year-old Moko Rangitoheriri.

The Whangarei march starts at 1pm, with marchers encouraged to gather from 12.30 onwards at Haven Falls Funeral Home, 139 Bank Street (opposite McDonald’s).

Northland DHB paediatrician Dr Catherine Bremner commented: “Sadly, abused children are an all-too-common part of our work.”

Northland DHB frontline staff are trained to look for indications of family violence and child abuse in patients and families, and last year, they filed more than 600 ‘reports of concern’ for a variety of reasons.

Dr Bremner states Northland was one of the first two sites in the country to set up a dedicated children’s team, supporting families with a ‘wraparound’ service involving range of sector experts and practitioners before their situations get to a level requiring the involvement of Child, Youth and Family.

“Health is only part of the solution,” says Dr Bremner. “There are many families in Northland experiencing lots of pressures and difficulties. Everybody in our communities needs to make this their problem because it’s not going to go away until we all tackle it together.”

-ENDS-

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