Carmel Claridge – The Court of New Beginnings

Our speaker for October is Carmel Claridge.  Carmel may already be known to some of you from her time as Deputy Chairman of the Orakei Local Board. Carmel has an eclectic background, working at various stages of her life as a lawyer, fitness consultant, cleaner, dog groomer, social housing navigator, and now Coordinator of Te Kōti o Timatanga Hou/Court of New Beginnings.

 Carmel is passionate about her mahi at Te Kōti o Timatanga Hou and feels privileged to share the TKTH journey with some of our most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society – the homeless.

Te Kōti o Timatanga Hou/Court of New Beginnings, is a therapeutic specialist Court set up  in 2010 in response to concerns about recidivist, low-level, public nuisance offending  in the Auckland CBD area. Evaluations of the Court have shown a significant reduction in arrests, nights spent in prison, and accident and emergency visits. Te Kōti o Timatanga Hou is a proven“circuit breaker” for many caught in the revolving door, between prison and the street. It offers guidance and hope to a better life path for those who have the courage to change.