Regional Social Services
Social Work
Shama offers free social work support to ethnic women. Feel free to come and have a chat with a Social Worker who would be happy to listen to your story and support you with any concerns you may have.
Call the Shama office to book an appointment on 07 843 3810 or email us on info@shama.org.nz
We provide referrals, culturally competent assessments, home visits, safety plans, advocacy, and support.
Shama receives referrals from a wide range of sources, including the Integrated Safety Response, Social Service Agencies, Women’s Refuge, Work and Income New Zealand, District Health Board, Citizen Advice Bureau, Birth Centres, and of course the women themselves as well as their friends and relatives. Once a referral has been received, as much information as possible is then gathered about the person to identify both areas of concern and areas of strength.
This information from the assessment is then used to develop a social work intervention appropriate to the client’s needs. That intervention plan is used to empower the women, strengths to their individual needs, with clear time frames that can be used to review progress. The plan is reviewed and revised on a regular basis, and may include:
- Group programmes, such as Life Skills classes incorporating English, computers, sewing, cooking and conversation class, as well as legal and domestic violence workshop.
- Support and advocacy – for example, helping access services such as solicitors, immigration, WINZ, medical support, IRD, and JP (Justice of Peace)
- Drop-in centre to meet other women.
- Children’s Holiday Programme
- Safety plans
- Parenting and positive relationships workshops
Our work in the areas of education, empowerment, and community awareness aims at preventing family violence tended to be couched in terms of family safety, family health, and family development. This is because family violence is a sensitive topic for ethnic communities, and ‘family safety’ was a more acceptable way of framing.
Counselling
Our counsellor offers Support for ethnic people facing problems related to grief and loss, interpersonal issues, depression, anxiety, self-esteem and other concerns.
We offer a safe, confidential and non-judgmental service.
The Counsellor provides support to identify strategies that will help clients to manage their life, to set goals and cope with complex and sometimes unexpected challenges.
