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C-BERSS EX-PRESS
December 1997
Issue 1, Vol 1
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All Newsletters : December 1997 : A Message From Maria Harries
A Message From Maria Harries
It has been an honour and a privilege for me to be involved with ex-residents of Christian Brothers' schools, staff and committee members in setting up C-BERSS.
I have spent nearly thirty years working in community service, but this organisation is the one of which I am most proud to have been involved in developing.
We have an excellent and committed team, who continue to work very hard to ensure that every person who requests assistance gets the best that is possible and that their privacy is always protected.
Not one of us can take away the past experiences of men who suffered as small children.
Our aim is to help soothe some of the pain from the past and to help people to lead fuller and richer lives - both in the present and in the future.
Whatever we have achieved has come from listening to the people who count most - the men and their families.
It is very reassuring to us that so many of these men tell us that we are making a difference. (I guess that the ever increasing number of people who come to C-BERSS must reflect that we are on the right track because many people come to us after someone else has told them it is an okay place).
There were, and still are, a lot of different views about whether or not we should have a service like C-BERSS, whether it can be trusted and about who should pay for it.
The position we have taken is that it is better to do something than to do nothing and that if we do something we will do it well.
We also have absolute respect for the fact that everyone can make a choice about whether or not they want to come to C-BERSS.
We are here and we are willing to listen to any ideas about what we can do to help ex-residents who are seeking to heal the past and move on to a more fulfilling future.
Maria Harries
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