Welfare groups to consider finances

Press, 19 October 1976, Page 2

Welfare groups to consider finances

PA Wellington The future of voluntary organisations in New Zealand will be discussed by a general meeting of the Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations in Wellington today. The federation, with 23 member organisations, will also review its own constitution and finances, and look at methods of funding both from the Government and the private sector. Members include the National Society on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, the Royal New- Zealand Foundation for the Blind, the Disabled Citizen’s Society, the Leprosy Mission, and the New Zealand Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society. The federation’s executive officer (Mr David West) yesterday described the federation’s financial position as"very shaky”. Last year the federation received a grant of $5OOO to employ a full-time officer to co-ordinate activities between member organisations and to encourage “feedback” to the New Zealand Council of Social Services. This year, however, that grant has not been guaran-

teed, and the federation is having to review the employment of its full-time executive officer. "Obviously we would hope for continued government funding, but we will also be looking to our own bodies and business organisations for help,” Mr West said. He said that the federation, formed in 1969, could not continue to play an active role in the field of social welfare unless it could provide some form of liaison between voluntary bodies.

“Voluntary groups are well aware of the value of co-ordinating their activities — it is better that they do so themselves than have it Imposed upon them." An important topic will also be the recent report from the Council on Social Services on the roles of the government, local authorities, and voluntary organisations in social welfare.

“There is a big fear among some members that local authorities will take over the role of voluntary organisations in the community. I don’t think that threat exists.”

Speaking on the future

role of voluntary agencies, Mr West said it was important that they continued to play their historical role of meeting immediate needs in the community. “Welfare groups like the Red Cross (not a federation member) which are trying to involve themselves in a broad range of problems get into difficulties in finding expertise and recruiting skills.”

Small single-purpose organisations, like the Epilepsy Association, on the other hand, did not have the same problems because they answered specific problems. “The essence of voluntary groups is their pioneering spirit — their ability to see a need and meet it,” Mr West said. “The difficulties only arise after the need has been met — should the problem be handled on a local or a national level?” He said that to a certain extent the Council on Social Services report would solve this problem by defining areas of activity. One area of special concern however, was the need for voluntary organisations to make use of social-work training and specialised skills.