About the organisation/community group 

Family Works is run by Presbyterian Support Southland (PSS), a charitable trust which provides a range of health and social services in the region.

It is one of the largest social service providers in Southland.

Family Works delivers a range of programmes and services to support Southland families/whanau, children and young people, including foster care, buddy programme, social work, counselling, family dispute resolution, Family Start, Strengthening Families service, Young Parents service, parenting programmes and some services for Oranga Tamariki.

At the end of the last financial year, Family Works supported 1117 families in Southland.

What the grant went towards 

The Invercargill Licensing Trust and ILT Foundation provided a combined grant of $140,000 towards Family Works’ operating costs to run its programmes and services.

What the grant means to the organisation/community group 

“It means we can continue to deliver our services to the families in our community that desperately need the service,” Family Works Director Judith McInerney said.

“Without the funding we would have to significantly reduce the service,” she said.

“It makes a significant difference.”

Presbyterian Support Services Chief Executive John Prendergast said the great thing about the ILT and ILT Foundation funding was that it was sustained funding,

“We have been fortunate to receive grants from both for many, many years now, and it is a critical piece of our funding make-up. Receiving $140,000 a year is a material contributor to our ability to provide wraparound support to over a thousand Southland families,” he said.

“Given the many calls on ILT funding we are very grateful to receive their ongoing support.”