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What a fantastic event it was on Wednesday - a packed banquet room at the InterContinental, some wonderful recipients for our Goal Setters awards and an interesting speech from The Rt Hon Bill English. Jane did a great job of coaching our awardees: Emily Dwight - who battled thyroid cancer while chasing her dreams in medicine. Julie Vidal - who's fathers death threw her world into a spin and was thrown out of her home continues to strive for her BA in Arts and Law. Jeremy Haggland - a medical misadventure destroyed his world and forced him to chose another vocation well into his thirties. He is now working hard to obtain his Bachelors Degree in Nursing so he can give back the same care he received over the last few years. Congratulations to all of you - so well deserved. Bill English spoke about one of his pet projects - using technology to identify the best use of social investment dollars to ensure that we encourage and resolve issues for the right people at the right time. A small group called the Social Investment Unit has been established inside the Ministry of Social Development which will use data transferred from multiple agencies to identify vulnerable people. They will use that information to work with the multitude of social agencies outside of government to provide solutions. The earlier that the vulnerable folk can be identified, the earlier a resolution can be put in place which provides better outcomes for them and for us all. It's a long term strategy and ties back to encouraging people to strive for greater things in life and the hope that people can push through their setbacks, and with a little help, achieve their goals. |
