City Scene - Burwood/Pegasus April 2003: Aranui Renewal gets a boost

Burwood/Pegasus April 2003

Aranui Renewal gets a boost

Affirm – a day to remember: This summer’s Aranui Family Festival, Affirm, was a day to remember.The event lived up to its billing as a “showcase all
that is good about Aranui”. The day included top-class entertainers, food from Aranui’s many cultures, free fun for children and a wide range of organisations providing information about careers, education, health and Aranui-based services for youth and families. Motivation for Affirm came from the Aranui community as part of Aranui Community Renewal – a partnership between the local community, Christchurch City Council and Housing NZ.

The Aranui community is receiving extra assistance in obtaining training and employment with the appointment of a Work and Income employment solutions broker to the area.

Anne Ginty, an experienced Work and Income case manager is based at the Aranui Community Housing and Information Centre, 34 Marlow Rd, Monday to Friday, 8.30am - 4.30pm.

“The Burwood/Pegasus Community Board welcomes and applauds this initiative,” Board chairman Don Rowlands says.

The impetus to have someone in this role has come from the Aranui Community Renewal partnership between Christchurch City Council, Housing New Zealand Corporation and the community.

“This partnership works to empower Aranui people and to assist them to work with agencies and groups to find long term solutions to issues,” says Gill Redfern, the Council’s Aranui community development adviser.

The need for a dedicated employment solutions broker in Aranui was identified as one of the main priorities for the area as part of Aranui Community Renewal’s efforts in training and employment, Ms Redfern says

“It is fantastic that Work and Income has come to the party with a person of Anne Ginty’s calibre.”

“The Aranui Community Trust is excited by the development and hopes the community and Work and Income can develop a long term relationship that will deliver real benefits,” Aranui Community Trust chairman, Rob Davidson says.

Ivan Ieti, New Brighton Work and Income Service Centre manager says, "appointing Anne to the area is a wonderful opportunity for Work and Income to be directly involved at a community level. It gives us a much greater chance of making a positive impact on the people we are working with."

Anne Ginty’s core role will be to help Aranui people overcome the barriers they may face when trying to access training and employment opportunities. “Networking with employers, particularly those in Aranui, will be an important part of my position,” Ms Ginty says.

“I will also be working very closely with Work and Income case managers to help my clients achieve a smooth transition to training and good quality jobs.h Among these case managers will be Morehu Henare, a Work and Income colleague, supporting Maori Youth and their families in Aranui.

In keeping with Aranui Community Renewal, Anne will work alongside other agencies to ensure that people are well supported in their decisions to take up training or a new job.

Anne Ginty can be contacted on 373 9039