Stand Whangārei's Brian Cunningham retires after 27 years in charge

Brian Cunningham retires from Stand, Maunu, after 27 years at the helm. Photo / Michael Cunningham

In the 27 years Brian Cunningham has spent helping children have a better life he's probably worked with more than 6000 kids.

And seeing those children overcome their difficulties and achieve gives him enormous satisfaction.

But now Cunningham will be spending more time on himself, his family and his surfing after retiring as head of Stand Children's Services Tu Maia Whānau, in Maunu (formerly the Maunu Children's Health Camp).

He started at the health camp in December 1992, driven by a desire to help children who may not have always had the best start in life or have health difficulties.

''In 2001 we became Stand, and that really sums up what we are about. There's a time to stand in front of them to work with them and protect them, a time to stand beside them to support them then to stand behind them to help them move on,'' Cunningham said.

''Many of them come with their own challenges and I feel quite privileged to be able to help them towards a better future. We provide the wraparound services they and their families need. Some have been through trauma and need some work to get them on the right path.''

He said the focus now was not just working with the children, but also their wider family to come up with solutions.

''If you get the family involved as well it has more chance of being effective.''

And the best part of the job?

''Easy. Seeing children grow as people has got to be the biggest for me. It's amazing to see them grow, with the right support from Stand. We only get them for five weeks, then follow them up after that. We get some pretty broken kids through the doors, but it's surprising how much you can do in that time.''

Another thing he was particularly proud of was Stand's staff, who he had helped grow and develop through study.

''We've got a few with Masters degrees or working towards post-graduate level, and that sees them become better people to help our children here.''

As a result, he was confident Stand would continue to thrive and provide a wonderful service to the children it helped.

Now it was time for him to relax and put some more time into himself and his family.

''I'm a surfer so will also be spending far more time out on the water,'' Cunningham said.

Staff who have worked with Cunningham over the years told the Northern Advocate they have valued him in so many ways: trusted colleague, big brother, a leader, a wonderful father and role model, a fun person with a great sense of humour, a great bloke - dependable, competent, careful. But, they said, most importantly he is a person with a huge heart for children and families, believing in potential, and expecting children to be the best they can be and bringing light to children's eyes, hearts, minds and souls.

Stand Children's Services Tu Maia Whānau was established in 1919 as the Sunshine Camps, developed into Children's Health Camps, which was a universal health service. It's a specialised social work service supporting tamariki and whānau who have experienced trauma.

Its mission is: To transform the lives of children and young people who are at significant risk of harm to their wellbeing as a consequence of the environment in which they are being raised and their own complex needs.