Strong Voices

It has been another tough year of lockdowns. And that came as a real blow to those of us who had hoped the worst was behind us in 2020.

The Wallaces’ five-week-old baby girl, Edin, was in Starship children’s hospital in Auckland with unexplained seizures. Her mother Karen was by her side. Edin’s father Rob was nearby in Ronald McDonald House with her two brothers, Ben, 6, and Ryan, 4. Whatever was going to happen to Edin, the Whangārei family was going to face it together.‍

Across the IHC Group, it’s extremely important for us to protect our colleagues and the people we support from COVID-19.

David Simpson had the ground cut from beneath him when his Kaiapoi home was destroyed in the first Christchurch quake. Then the ground shifted again.

The Human Rights Review Tribunal and IHC are collecting evidence about the experiences of disabled children in the education system from parents, educators and community groups, ahead of a hearing in that tribunal.

Northland families with disabled children are withdrawing from contact with other people because of the sheer stress of trying to manage the children with little support.

Eight young artists have their eyes on a new prize in the IHC Art Awards 2021.

This year Dannevirke celebrates a long and special relationship between its indoor bowling clubs and IHC. This is a town that has always said yes to supporting local people with intellectual disabilities.

Donors to IHC now have an easy way to claim their 33.33 percent tax rebates on any donation to IHC – and other charitable organisations over the past five years. As a donor you decide whether to re-gift or keep your rebate. Supporters can sign up to supergenerous.co.nz to do this. Although there is no upfront cost, there will be an automatic charge of 10 percent plus GST taken out of the Inland Revenue donation tax rebate to pay for this service. IHC National Fundraising Manager Greg Millar says many New Zealanders aren’t reclaiming this rebate that they are due from Inland Revenue. “This is a simple and quick way to do this. It’s also simple to choose to re-gift the rebate to IHC if you wish.”

Photo credit: Recha Oktaviani – Unsplash

In May and June four ‘wellness’ workshops gave family carers the opportunity to connect with other parents of children with intellectual disabilities.