Group looks at support centre for teen parents

Glennie Oborn. Photo / Natalie Slade

A world-first support centre for teenage mothers and fathers looks set to open soon in Henderson thanks to the founder of one of New Zealand's biggest private childcare chains.

A charitable foundation set up by Kindercare founder Glennie Oborn has applied for resource consent to build the support centre in a $2 million integrated family centre on the site of a former flower-growing property off Lincoln Rd.

A group of 26 young parents supported by the Auckland Women's Centre produced a report last year proposing the support centre.

Although there are education units for teenage mothers, there is little broader support - and nothing for teenage fathers.

Teen parent development manager Annalise Myers said the centre would provide antenatal courses, support groups for young mums, mentoring for young dads and courses to build the parents' educational and life skills.

Plans include a computer suite and a big kitchen to learn cooking.

"Our idea is that parenting needs to be the catalyst for success rather than thinking it has to be doom and gloom," Ms Myers said.

The teen parents' group is forming a charitable trust called Thrive.

It linked up with Ms Oborn's Living and Learning Foundation through the Tindall Foundation, which funded the initial research report.

Ms Oborn said her foundation believed that supporting families when they were very young could help children "to establish a love of learning and come from a Christian values base where they want to contribute positively to their communities".

The Henderson project is due to open in May next year in the new Universal Drive extension.

Ms Myers said Living and Learning was raising three-quarters of the costs of the Henderson project and Thrive needed to find the remaining $470,000.