Presbyterian church networks are being enlisted to fight the
dumping of Presbyterian Support Otago (PSO) as a provider of
home-based support for older people in the South.
Presbyterian Support Otago is seeking legal advice to
challenge the Southern District Health Board's decision to
dump the organisation as a home support provider, the
organisation's chief executive says.
Presbyterian Support Otago (PSO) has suffered a ''huge
shock'' from being dumped as the provider of a $5.5 million
annual contract providing home-based services to older
people, chief executive Gillian Bremner says.
Otago Polytechnic carpentry senior lecturer Matt Thompson
helps Presbyterian Support community development team leader
Melanie McNatty put grocery items into boxes.
In a city with one of the highest youth unemployment rates,
YouthGrow has a solid success rate for its participants, but
funding is increasingly uncertain.
Posting an operating loss of $110,000 indicated just how
challenged Presbyterian Support Otago is as demand for its
services grows and income tightens, board corporate and
finance committee chairman Ray Macleod said.
Children were
present in about 1900 family violence incidents in the
Southern area last year - a sad statistic Presbyterian
Support Family Works wants to change.
