Spare a thought for those working through this festive season

Christmas is almost here, the sun is shining, school is out and for many of us preparations are well underway for a relaxing holiday break with friends and family.

While it’s important to take time out, many NGOs and charities will be working through delivering vital services to some of society’s most vulnerable.

Presbyterian Support Northern (PSN) Chief Executive Shaun Greaves, who oversees a range of social and health and disability services, said these workers are true unsung heroes of the festive season…and should be acknowledged.

One large group of people in need of support are older people. PSN’s Enliven Home Based Support Service at any one time has around 2300 clients, mainly people in their eighties or nineties, who are cared for by about 475 support workers.

“Enliven staff continue to be needed on public holidays, whether out with clients in their homes, or being on call to support with queries and incidents,” said Greaves.

“Our Service Coordination and Client Services teams are likely to be extra busy with referrals this Christmas as hospitals often discharge people home before the holidays.

“Our support workers will continue visiting clients in their homes, even on Christmas Day, and are often a welcome and friendly sight, especially those clients living alone.”

Greaves says Christmas is a highly complex time as the organisation tries to balance staff annual leave requests with the needs of clients.

“While some clients may stay with families for a day or two over Christmas, others need extra support at home when families go away for the holidays.

“It’s a continually changing environment that has to be managed closely to ensure we get the balance right.”

Two other important services run by PSN that won’t stop for Christmas are the Lifeline Aotearoa helplines and the Shine family violence services.

“In the case of Shine, the holiday period is traditionally our busiest time, but this year we anticipate one of the highest levels of demand yet, following a steady increase in women and children needing refuge throughout the year,” said Greaves.

“Lifeline staff, who provide a national mental health helpline service, will also be working through and are already preparing for a steady flow of calls and texts from people at high risk of self-harm or suicide.

“On a busy day, Lifeline can receive more than 400 calls and around 1100 texts. While we’re hoping we don’t see these levels of demand over the holiday season as families come together more, we must still ensure our call centre shifts are staffed and able to take calls.”

Greaves says an extra challenge for Lifeline this festive season is the closing of the midnight to 7.00am shift due to funding constraints.

“With no Government funding and rising costs, we’ve unfortunately had to close our midnight shift. How this will affect demand throughout the day is something we’ll be keeping a close eye on during the holiday season.”

Greaves said it’s important that New Zealanders acknowledge all those that work through the holidays.

“We are just one charity among many. When you add in emergency services such as police, fire and ambulance, there are literally thousands of workers whose Christmas this year will just be another working day.

“These people are incredible – it’s time we acknowledge their contributions and thank them for allowing the rest of us to have that well-earned break that we all deserve.”