Social service agencies, parents and members of the public are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the Inter Agency Committee for Children and Families.

Tomorrow’s meeting at Charities House aims to update stakeholders on the current activities of the IAC, as well as the needs of children and families in Bermuda.

“IAC agencies continue to struggle to meet the increased demand for services and we are seeing less funding,” IAC chairwoman Martha Dismont stated. “We are also seeing inadequate resource capacity (human capital) to address the needs of struggling families, and a large gap in service provision for the 16 to 25-year-old, particularly males.”

And Nadine Lapsley-Dyer, vice-chair, added: “This year IAC will focus on increasing our advocacy actions on behalf of at-risk families and children and offer trainings to meet the needs of agencies to ensure they operate at best practice and in turn provide quality services.”

Presentations will include an update on the National Children’s Agenda of Priorities, a presentation by Superintendent Darrin Simmons on Gangs: A Police Perspective, as well as remarks by Nandi Outerbridge, the Minister of Social Development and Sport.

IAC members consist of public and private social service providers, as well as concerned individuals. This includes charities such as Saving Children and Revealing Secrets, Family Centre, Pride Bermuda, Mirrors, the Coalition for the Protection of Children, the Department of Health, Salvation Army, the Adult Education Centre, CURB and more.

As a result of a strategic planning process conducted last year, the IAC has updated its mission and vision statement to focus “on greater collective advocacy, and a push for more just and fairer practices to support families”. It aims to “collectively advocate for children and families and to provide best-practice training for agencies servicing them”, with a vision of a “just and equitable society where children and families thrive”.

• The Annual Meeting will be held tomorrow at 9.30am at Charities House, 25 Point Finger Road, Paget.