A small crowd gathered, Wednesday, outside the City Mission, Newtown, to welcome the first Orange Sky van to Wellington. The custom-built-van is fitted with a shower, two washing machines and a clothes dryer, and open to use for anyone living without these necessities. Kris F’afoi, the associate minister for housing, and local member of parliament Read more
The Salvation Army is to trial a free GP clinic in West Auckland because it says there’s an immediate demand for it. It is holding the clinic once a week over July at the army’s Waitākere centre. We want to respond to those most in need and we will also continue to support people, advocate Read more
A charity traditionally associated with disaster relief is helping a south Auckland community with its crisis – food. From late 2018, the Rapid Relief Team (RRT) has provided Papakura police with emergency food boxes that contain enough food for a family of four to live on for 24 hours. Read more
The Salvation Army says drugs, crime and poverty mar its latest state of the nation report. It says despite the country becoming wealthier, many Kiwis don’t share the prosperity. The Salvation Army says the number of families seeking food parcels from its 65 food banks jumped 12 percent this year. It says demand had held 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
Stephanie McIntyre has a radical solution for solving the growing number of people begging on the street: Don’t give them a cent. McIntyre is the director of Downtown Community Ministry (DCM) in Wellington. DCM’s main focus is on ending homelessness and supporting people to get access to income, but she says putting money in the hat 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
The Free Store is an inner-city community in Wellington that daily redistributes edible surplus food from 35 local cafes, bakeries and restaurants. It operates out of a converted shipping container in Upper Willis St. More than 100,000 items of food are redistributed in the shipping container annually. The Free Store serves people from all walks Read more
Kiwis struggling to feed their families are set to get a further helping hand from one of New Zealand’s largest supermarket chains. Countdown is setting aside $100,000 of its profits to create a contestable fund that will be available to food rescue operations. Currently the supermarket chain donates food that is still fit for consumption Read more
Chris Farrelly says collaboration is the only way to fix Auckland’s poverty cycle. Farrelly began as CEO of the Auckland City Mission on 1 June. “It’s no one organisation, no one political party, no one government, no matter what can do this, it’s a whole community” “We work all the time, day in, day out Read more