Background

The goal of the J R McKenzie Trust is to improve the quality of life for New Zealanders who have special needs or who face disadvantage. The majority of funding each year is provided to hundreds of community based organisations active in community development, social services and health. The remainder of funds distributed annually is reserved for multi-year focused programmes that aim to make a more significant contribution in a particular field.

Establishment of See Here

In 2005, the Trust’s attention was drawn to the needs of New Zealand children, particularly those under 15, with mild and moderate vision and hearing deficits. Research was commissioned in this area, including a literature review and interviews with a selection of key people with relevant knowledge. This research concluded that limited resources seem to be available for children with vision impairment, particularly those with less severe impairments.

The Trust’s Youth Education Fund had also alerted the Trust to the increasing demand for assistance with funding for children’s glasses. After a process of narrowing the options, agreement was reached that a project for vision related issues in children should be established.

A number of approaches were considered by See Here, and it was decided that an evidence-based model similar to that used by Project HIEDI (Hearing Impairment: Early Detection and Intervention) was well aligned with the purpose and values associated with the JR McKenzie Trust’s childhood vision project.

A project team was formed in April 2006 and the project was named See Here in 2007. Work has intensified during the past year and has focused on collecting information relating to policy and practice and on understanding the views of key stakeholders in order to develop recommendations for the improvement of services for this group of children.

Information for parents

Please go to this page to find downloadable versions of brochures for families.

Key Documents, Updates and Other Documents

Please go to this page for the latest documentation and updates related to See Here.

Endorsements

Please read this page for a list of organisations that have endorsed See Here's Consensus Statement.

More information

For more information on the project, or to receive a copy of our regular stakeholder updates by email, please email our Project Manager, Janet Digby at janet@levare.co.nz.