Tess Gould-Thorpe – Tamaki/East
For the last 16 years I have had the role of Support Group Coordinator for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust NZ (GRG). I wholeheartedly embrace this role, as my husband and I, after raising 9 children, including a foster child and a niece, at ages 57 and 63 became guardians of a 12-year-old child whose parents had died.
We needed to find others in a similar situation, caring for a grieving child in a totally different generation and world from the one we brought our children up in. That's when we joined GRG. Having been fostered at 10 days old, I understand how sad it is not being with your Mum and Dad like other children were.
My life purpose is to support members in an accepting, inclusive and non-judgmental way to achieve a positive life outcome for their whanau.
To find out more about the Tamaki/East Support Group, get in touch with our national office.