Message from Jo

Kia ora,

As we head towards the brighter, longer days of Spring, there is a welcome sense of hope and possibility. At PSO, we want to ensure that every person can experience that sense of hope, despite the many challenges we continue to face as a nation. The rising costs of food, energy and housing are affecting more and more people, and we are seeing the impacts of this across all our services.

At PSO, we are committed to continuing to provide care and support to all those who need it, so we have refocused and are now implementing our strategy for PSO’s future. We are taking steps towards transforming our organisation into one that, together with your continued support, will be stronger and more resilient and will be able to meet the community’s needs, despite political or economic headwinds.

A key part of our strategy will be to build and offer more retirement village homes, at much more affordable prices than we see in today’s environment. This will provide more housing options for local people and create much needed revenue we can use to strengthen our aged care and social services. Our purchase of Castlewood in Alexandra recently is part of this important strategy.

Our history sustains us as we face the future, and in this issue we celebrate milestones for Op Shop on St Andrew, YouthGrow and Iona care home. We are so grateful for the past and present support of our community, and we hope you will continue to walk with us as we evolve into an agile, responsive and more sustainable organisation.

Blessings to you all,

Jo Rowe
CEO and Acting Enliven Director,
Presbyterian Support Otago