Ten years after the Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai – began working on finding a new home, it has finally opened its doors. Called HomeGround, Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson (pictured at the new facility) says its new one-stop health and social services space for the city’s most vulnerable people realises a long-held Read more
Aucklanders who rely on benefits say they are just “trying to survive”. Hardship support from Work and Income has amounted to a “pittance”, they say. Advocates for Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP) and beneficiaries using their services say the support offered this year did not match that of the first lockdown. Just surviving is a Read more
The new Auckland City Missioner is well known in Catholic social justice circles. Helen Robinson, who is stepping up to the post from her role as Auckland City Mission’s social services general manager, will start her new role this month. Robinson’s experience includes working with Catholic youth development organisation The Logos Project and with Challenge Read more
The Auckland City Mission says over the last few years, demand for food has continually and dramatically increased. Food insecurity, or food poverty, is defined as not having enough appropriate food. The City Mission says information about food insecurity in New Zealand is outdated and sparse. But research led by the mission’s general manager of Read more
Thousands of Auckland families are forced to feed themselves on about $6:50 a meal this winter, Auckland City Mission says. Its Social Services general manager Helen Robinson (pictured above) said that, for many families, once they had paid rent, debts, power, transport and medical costs, there was little left to spend on food. Robinson said that an economist’s assessment Read more
Mayor Phil Goff wants to pump an extra $5 million into the Auckland City Mission, to help with the construction costs of its new building on Hobson St. That building, to be called HomeGround, will contain accommodation, health services and community facilities. Demolition of the old City Mission buildings has already begun. Continue reading Related Read more
The Auckland City Mission has begun relocating its entire operation. It is shifting to a temporary site so the existing building in Hobson St can be upgraded. Its accommodation, food bank, medical centre and other services will be located a few blocks away at 23 Union Street until a $90 million redevelopment is completed. The Read more
Catholic bishops from Oceania meeting in Auckland last week visited the City Mission and served meals to the homeless, the mentally unwell and those suffering economic deprivation. “This was a humbling experience during which we felt deeply Christ’s call to sit and walk alongside those who struggle or find themselves on the margins of society,” Read more
The Auckland City Mission is bursting at the seams and crying out for help as it is inundated with desperate need. The charity has been struggling since May and Auckland City Missioner Chris Farrelly said they’ve been at full capacity for weeks and can’t see it letting up anytime soon. “The sharp edge of poverty Read more
Auckland City Missioner, Chris Farrelly, has written to the New Zealand Herald saying he was “troubled immensely” by the comments on Facebook about a story featuring a solo mother of six. The story was part of the Mission’s Mothers’ Day fundraising campaign. “It was at odds with what I know of the brave and resilient Read more