[10][11][12] In 2004 she established the Henwood Trust to support strategies to reduce repeat youth offending and find alternatives to imprisonment.

[4][14] From 2008 to 2015 Henwood was Chair of the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service, which heard allegations of historical abuse and neglect from adults who had been in state care before 1992.

[20] She was a founder of the Theatre Artists Charitable Trust, which obtains funding from sponsors for theatre companies and co-operatives in partnership with Circa[19][21] and has been deputy chair of the board of Toi Whakaari, the New Zealand Drama School.

[2] She was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services as a District and Youth Court judge and to the arts, in the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours.

[19] In the 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours, Henwood was promoted to Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the State, youth and arts.