Stronger Communities, organised by Council’s Community Team, brings together an engaging line up of speakers and valuable networking opportunities to help identify gaps, spark collaboration, and move the sector toward a more coordinated system with smoother referrals and better continuity of care.

Community Development Facilitator Nicola Trolove says local social service providers had been seeking support to meet their annual professional development goals and, following the positive response from last year’s attendees, bringing the conference back was a no-brainer.

“Ongoing professional development is essential to offering services that are safe, current, and evidence informed — and for many services, it is also a legal or contractual requirement.

“Investing in professional development for staff and volunteers not only plays a vital role in maintaining accountability to clients and the community but it helps with retention and preventing burnout for these vital roles,” Nicola says.

With volunteers making up a significant portion of the social services sector, organisers have placed a strong emphasis on affordability, offering free registration for volunteers and multi-buy packages for paid roles capped at $300 per organisation.

By bringing expert speakers to North Canterbury on 18 and 19 June, the conference removes the need for the local workforce to travel to Christchurch or other main centres where these events are usually held.

This year’s speaker line-up includes Janelle Riki-Waaka (Director, Riki Consultancy), Nortessa Montgomerie (survivor and advocate), Michael Hempseed (author, TedX speaker), as well as a first-ever community screening of ‘SEEN’, a Parent TV documentary exploring the power of personal healing for parents and its impact on children.

Nicola says she’s looking forward to the conference providing a space for practitioners and volunteers to build new skills and knowledge and connect with their peers.

“When you know the person on the other end of the phone, referrals become easier, collaboration feels natural, and support for whānau and communities is stronger and more responsive.”

Get your tickets for Stronger Communities

• Stronger Communities – 18 and 19 June
• John Knox Church, Rangiora
• $100 for employed staff | $300 multi-buy for organisations | free for volunteers

The screening of SEEN can be attended by the public for $20 a ticket.

The full programme and conference tickets are available on Humanitix. If you have any questions, please contact community@wmk.govt.nz