Strong Voices

IDEA Services and Choices NZ introduced a refreshed complaints policy this year as part of an ongoing commitment to providing a quality service.

The Shed Creative Space in Paraparaumu and Ōtaki has been honoured with the Holdsworth Charitable Trust Scholarship Award, an accolade aimed at supporting art studios that nurture artists with intellectual disabilities. This prestigious award, accompanied by a $5,000 prize, recognises the exceptional talent and dedication of the studio’s artists.

‍

The IHC Art Awards 2024, a hallmark event celebrating the talents of artists with intellectual disabilities, has once again brought to light extraordinary works of art. The opening night, hosted at Webb’s auction house in Wellington, honoured these artists’ creativity, marking another successful year for the awards.

Nothing About Us Without Us is an exhibition to mark IHC’s 75th anniversary. It tells the story of IHC’s formation and evolution through remarkable photographic portraits, still-life images and archival material.

The success of IHC’s foray into big data with the 2023 publication of From Data to Dignity: Health and Wellbeing Indicators for New Zealanders with Intellectual Disability, has led the IHC Board to approve funding for six additional research projects.

Maureen Wood, a courageous, committed and intelligent leader in IHC and beyond, died in October. Ralph Jones, IHC Group Chief Executive, paid tribute.

IHC Chief Executive Ralph Jones retired at the end of 2024 after 33 years at IHC and more than two decades as Chief Executive.

2024’s AGM, held in Wellington on 1 November, was a special event. We celebrated 75 years of IHC with seven of our IHC New Zealand Life Members, and we named another three.

Despite facing one of the biggest tests of her life, dairy farmer Kaye Quinlan will be on the road again this winter raising money for families living with intellectual disability.

IHC is expanding its Family-Whānau Liaison team into Waikato to make sure more families caring for people with intellectual disabilities can get the help they need.