Meet the social services guru who is changing lives
Aimee Wilson
06 June 2025, 6:00 PM
Shona Bain in her garden at home in Galloway. AIMEE WILSON PHOTOShona Bain has been helping strengthen families across Central Otago for 15 years.
There were currently 87 families throughout the Alexandra basin, Roxburgh, Cromwell and Wanaka that needed help, and the issues were getting more complicated by the day.
Central Otago REAP has the Strengthening Families contract through Oranga Tamariki, and Shona is the team leader based in Alexandra, working with co-ordinators in Ranfurly, Cromwell and Wanaka to offer a wrap around support service.
When she first started, families were struggling to deal with teenagers, but nowadays the issues were much bigger - relationship problems, lack of adequate housing, addiction, mental health and suicide.
“Back then there were lots of easy fixes. But it’s much more highly complex now.”
Just recently, Shona also took on another role with the Cancer Society (Southern), where she was supporting people and their families dealing with the disease. The two jobs sometimes overlapped and Shona was often the link between all of the social service agencies.
A family she has been dealing with lost their mother to cancer, and the brother and his wife - already with kids of their own, took on the extra family members.
Shona stepped in to make an action plan. Over six months there would be five social service agencies involved in helping that family run efficiently again.
“Finding housing for a family of seven children was a challenge which we overcame and with the support of specialist agencies the family thrived.”
Shona described the situation as “magical,” as she could see them coping well with the new changes once they were implemented.
But some days were not magical. Homeless people living in cars and under bridges. Families struggling to parent and lacking in the basics to feed their children, or to even get them off to school.
On those days Shona came home and went straight to her dry garden where she grew a range of succulents, cacti and Iris which provided a serene environment for thinking time.
Husband Lindsay knew when it was time to take over the cooking duties and leave his wife to it.
The former farmers from Arthurton knew what it’s like to do it tough. When mortgage interest rates skyrocketed to 28% in the 1970s, they were at risk of losing their farm. That was when Shona decided to go back teaching.
They planted a huge vegetable garden and lived off the land. It’s those life skills that she learned as a young working mother with three kids that she’s passing on to families now.
“With age comes experience and wisdom.”
When families were struggling to make ends meet she taught them basic life skills. Turning off the appliances on stand by in the house. Cooking meals from scratch. Limiting showers and eating seasonal food.
“There is a huge swing back to gardening and sewing your own clothes.”
The materialistic world has added extra pressures to families and people were not coping with everyday life and disconnecting from others as a result. Social media has a role to play as well.
“It’s an absolute privilege being involved with people and making their lives better,” she said.
Shona couldn’t imagine being in any other job. Strengthening families in Central Otago was her life - making small changes one day at a time.
