Our stories

Passing her full drivers’ licence has helped Priya* become more involved in the Mid Canterbury community she now calls home. The young mum has discovered her own independence by getting out and about, taking her children to and from school, and volunteering with local organisations. Any rural isolation she first felt...

Support and encouragement, provided through the Safer Mid Canterbury Youth Justice Programme, has helped George* to thrive. He was aged just 15 when he was referred to Youth Justice Services, following a record of offending in the community, and time spent at different schools and locations. When our Youth Justice...

BJ* was 14 years old, excluded from school and becoming involved in petty crime with other youth around the town. He had a long list of behavioural issues starting in primary school, including being verbally abusive to teachers and students, truancy, and misuse of property. He had no charges against him yet, but local...

Dylan* had just turned 15 when he moved out of home and in with a group of older friends. A short time later, he began working with them on a dairy farm and stopped going to school.  When Safer Ashburton’s Attendance Service coordinator first learnt about Dylan, they thought it could be difficult for him to re-engage...

When Alice*, an elderly Ashburton resident, had her fence damaged by a young driver she didn’t know what to do. Not only did she live on her own but she also suffered from mobility issues. The most upsetting part of the incident was discovering that a memorial plant for her late mother had been destroyed.  A referral...

After touching down at Christchurch Airport, the first Hazara family from Afghanistan travelled to their new home in Ashburton, which had been set up by RSSS volunteers the day before. The RSSS is a collaboration between Safer Mid Canterbury and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). It was...

David* was referred to Restorative Justice after pleading guilty in court to a charge of wilful damage and breaching a family harm protection order. The Restorative Justice facilitator made contact with both David and the victim, Sarah*, explaining what the service was and informing them that the process was completely...