CHAPTER THREE
DAVID
Work philosophy
My pre-teen years were about school and play. I wasn’t sure what I believed nor did I have many ideas. Trying to find my sartorial moment is tricky, but I'll give it a go.
I was a relatively intense pre-teen. My dad had encouraged me to ask lots of questions otherwise I would learn nothing. Reflecting back I recognize I was a lad on the cusp of transition. Almost an atheist, aware of dyslexia ( undiagnosed then ) issues I read widely and tried to figure stuff out.
At Sunday school I was offered a range of stories I thought were silly and not based on much. One story however, did get my attention. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle on the road to Damascus was pretty dramatic. How? Why? Outcome?Seventy years on I can suggest that transformation and epiphany loomed fairly large in my mind. I had no idea then what I would make of that, but it’s been the meat and potatoes of my counselling and mediation practice for over 50 years.
As a secondary school teacher I was primarily interested in asking students to challenge their thoughts, ideas and behaviours. As a Probation Officer I encountered individuals who were lost, deprived outliers whom I encouraged in various ways to visualize how their lives could be different. As a counsellor and mediator I was primarily interested in providing a forum where individuals or groups could attempt to re-write their scripts and patterns or alter their emotional, intellectual and behavioural perspectives to ease the load of failure they tended to carry. Pretty simple stuff really.My philosophy essentially is: what do I/you want for me and from you and what do I/you need from you and for me.
I loved teaching in the classroom. The educational structure and the Victorian pedagogy was too rigid for me though and after one year of teaching I realized it wasn’t going to be my career.
Returning to my adopted homeland in 1974 after travelling for four years with Stephanie I had to figure out what I wanted to do. I explored an adult apprenticeship in joinery and ended up working as an aluminium joiner for 6 months. Too cold, too monotonous and too restricted, I knew I needed to explore other ideas. I was told of openings in the Probation Service. I inquired, got an interview and was hired. For the next 10 years I was in the Courts, the prisons, detention centers, treatment centers and I found a perfect outlet for my philosophy, my abilities and what was to become my major interest. The clients were damaged by circumstance, uncertain how to proceed by habit so they drowned themselves in alcohol and drugs, indulged themselves in crime, misogyny and general marginal behaviour.
Quite a challenge for a well educated, white, middle class Canadian lad who had never known a criminal and knew very little about much in that shadowy world. I soon figured out there were a lot of Saul to Paul opportunities. Could each individual have an epiphany, a sartorial moment when they might develop new norms, new rules and eliminate jail from their repertoire. The possibility of an easier, more productive life. Maybe?
This fundamental outlook led to the establishment of the Salisbury Street Foundation in 1979. I was approached by a couple of prisoners in Christchurch Prison who were due for release and didn’t know what to do. They gave me an article about the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco and wondered if there was anything like that in Christchurch. There wasn’t, but within a couple of months SSF was born. I was able to put my thoughts, beliefs and ideals into a working framework. I have provided a lengthy document which traverses the whole story in Appendix A rather than tell it here. I have been to Delancey Street in San Francisco on two occasions and my programme was a mini version, but a reasonable replica.I can report that 45 years on, SSF thrives. There are eight properties all linked together in the most affluent suburb in Christchurch. There are several staff members, a strong Board, and a vibrant aftercare programme. The programme can cater for up to 35 residents many of whom have multiple needs and requirements. The model we set up in 1979 has endured because it was thoughtful, sound and truly tested from the start.
Following my decade as a Probation Officer I set up my private practice as a counsellor and mediator. In the early days my only client was the newly set up Family Court. I still do some work for the FC, the Christchurch City Council, Victim Support and the populace at large. I did a rough calculation recently and I have probably done 250,000 hours of counselling and about 50,000 hours of mediation. My approach has been pretty much the same throughout. It has been a fine career and I’m quite proud of the work I have done. The question remains: how do individuals implement change and find that pivotal moment when Saul becomes Paul.
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