"Community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another"
- Henry Nouwen
The 112 politicians and senior public servants who oversaw decades of harm and neglect, plus those who have been asked to apologise. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care finds that a successive list of…
Despite the many, many recommendations in today’s final inquiry report, there are still some glaring omissions, writes Steve Goodlass. I’ve previously been critical about the abuse in care inquiry’s productivity and the actual independence of the inquiry process. The final report and…
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen. My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently…
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held…
Almost a third of people in state and faith-based institutions between 1950 and 2019 were abused, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has found, describing it as a “disgrace” and a “stain” on the national character. The…
Faith-based care institutions had higher rates of sexual abuse than state care, the landmark Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has found. The inquiry found that Catholic institutions reported the highest levels of sexual abuse, alongside Dilworth School…
E hara taku toa I te takitahi. Te toa takitini My strength is not as an individual, but as a collective When we gave our opening at the Faith-based Phase 1 Hearing of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission on…
The Royal Commission on Abuse in Care next week delivers its much-delayed final report. But an earlier report, filed in December 2021, said abuse survivors needed an independent payment scheme urgently. So why hasn’t it happened? Mike Ledingham turned 74…
A Christchurch park and road have been renamed to remove the reminder of the dark past of Marylands School. From Thursday, the former Marylands Reserve and Marylands Place will be known as Validation Park and Validation Place, in honour of the survivors…
Peer support services are rapidly gaining mainstream acceptance thanks to recent federal initiatives, new reimbursement opportunities and the fallout from the opioid crisis. Peers have a unique ability to drive sustained patient engagement, industry insiders said at Behavioral Health Business’…
This is not the report I expected to submit when I was applying for a Churchill Fellowship. I thought I would be writing a relatively technical, academic document aimed primarily at commissioners and funders of support services for people who…
For the men who survived “evil” sexual and physical abuse in a Catholic boys’ home in Christchurch, last week was the first time authority figures gave them a reason to smile. The reserve and street named after Marylands School is being renamed…
