Dept can aid rural counselling groups

Press, 19 June 1986, Page 2

Dept can aid rural counselling groups

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington Organisations providing counselling services for families under stress in rural areas can get funding from Social Welfare Department programmes. The Minister of Social Welfare, Mrs Hercus, said a Timaru-based counselling service, “Rural Line,” which gave a 24-hour service for South Canterbury farmers, was an example of the type of service the department could help. “Rural Line” was funded through the Telephone Counselling Services programmes, which could help fund establishment and ongoing costs.

The programme aimed to encourage information, advice and referral services based on the telephone, she said. It offered a very useful first step for many rural people keen to set up this sort of support service. This programme had begun on October 1, 1985. The first grants to 35 different services, totalling $48,710, had been made earlier this year. Another relevant programme was the Family Services programme which together with Telephone Counselling Services, had an annual budget of more than $1 million Mrs Hercus said. The Family Services

programme could provide help to agencies developing a range of face-to-face social support services to meet the needs of families requiring help.

Citizen’s Advice Bureaux were another example of services funded by the Social Welfare Department which were available to rural communities, she said. There are 74 bureaux.

“I encourage members of the Country Women’s Institute, Women’s Division of Federated Farmers, and other com-munity-based groups connected with rural communities, to apply to the department for funding when establishing services