Hawke's Bay police detective Libby Bradford is the brains behind the Pepi Koha Packs initiative that can be handed out for children in family harm incidents. Photo / Paul Taylor
Hawke's Bay police detective Libby Bradford is the brains behind the Pepi Koha Packs initiative that can be handed out for children in family harm incidents. Photo / Paul Taylor
Hawke's Bay police's family harm team distribute about five packs containing basic necessities for babies and toddlers every week.
Hawke's Bay Police's detective Libby Bradford came up with the idea of Pēpi Koha Packs containing emergency supplies of nappies, wipes, baby food and milk for babies and toddlers after attendingfamily harm incidents that had been sparked by a lack of finances.
"We've been delivering on average about five Pēpi Koha Packs a week.
"Pepi Koha packs started when I first joined the family harm team in the Hawke's Bay and I was going to houses where baby necessities such as nappies and formula were very skint," she said.
"Often the arguments in the households were related to where money was spent.
"We identified an opportunity to both help prevent family harm by taking a little bit of pressure off new parents, and to ensure babies and toddlers were getting what they needed."
Pepi Koha packs for toddlers. Photo / Supplied
Approaching charities for contributions didn't yield the results they wanted, she said.
"We started approaching charities to see if we could source necessities. They were great but often the products available weren't the right sizes for the family that needed them.
"We came up with the idea of Pēpi Koha packs, which are packs of baby and toddler necessities tailored to a family's needs."
The programme has been up and running for about a month, she says.
"It's not just for struggling families or victims of family harm, but for anyone who finds themselves in an emergency situation.
"For example, we've delivered packs to people who have found themselves unexpectedly caring for relatives' children."
Local non-profits and the retail community have been a great help, she says.
"Until recently, we were having problems sourcing baby cleaning products and milk formula, but Pak'nSave Tamatea has begun donating items to us on demand.
"We're also getting weekly donations from Pak'nSave Napier."
Donations can be made to the Hastings or Napier police stations.
