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The Whangarei Anglican Care Trust has an interesting history, with contributions from many people over the years. In these pages we record our stories.
The Vision | The Project | Early Days | Food Bank | Some stories along the way | Budgeting | Move to Mill Road | Assistant co-ordinator appointed | New administrator
The Reverend Neil Fuge, Vicar of Whangarei looked at Christ Church, the largest church in his Parish with new eyes. He saw a beautiful modern building not being used to its full potential. He saw the land on which the church was sited shaped like a triangle pointing towards the city, and linked this with the need to take the ministry of Jesus Christ to the market place.
He shared this vision with a few faithful people who met regularly to pray that this ministry might become a reality. There were also discussions with the leaders of St Andrews Uniting Church who had developed a community outreach in the form of a Medical Centre in the city. Alterations to the church were considered in order to provide an operational base for Christian outreach ministry to both Church and community but proved to be too expensive.
Financing the programme required both the vision and the ability to convince others of its value. Neil was a Whangarei person born and bred and grew up with many of the local business people.
He shared his vision with a selected group of these business people and $20,000 was promised and given over a three-year period. Additional grants from charitable trusts such as the LW Nelson Trust, the J R McKenzie Trust and the Charles Scott Trust were sufficient for the work to begin. Also, as part of the plan, people were invited to contribute to the project by giving $20 per year and became known as ‘Friends’ of the Care Centre.They were also invited to select two members as representatives to the Trust Board. Many of these friends continue to pray and support the ministry.
The project started initially with prayer on Friday lunchtime both with and for people. There was a group of willing pray-ers to do this who worked in pairs on a roster. Even at this early stage a variety of people dropped in who were listened to and helped in various ways. As this practical work was going on – in the background a much greater vision was forming. At this point the ministry was developing according to the various skills of those who were members of the Care Centre team rather than as a specifically qualified social service.
Bruce MacGregor, a parishioner and solicitor, did the legal work to set up the Whangarei Anglican Care Trust. The deed of trust was dated 22 March1994, and legal charitable trust status was granted in August 1994. The Vestry of the Parish along with Neil Fuge appointed the original board of trustees. These were Neil, the Vicar, as Chairperson, Fay Beaumont and Ron Galbraith as the other trustees. The inaugural meeting of the Trust on 13th April, 1994 included the ‘Friends’ who elected two members to the Board, who were Rona Mackie and Bruce Postlewaite. The original trust deed has only had one change throughout the years.
The Trust Board continued to meet frequently developing policy and ministry guidelines. It was decided to advertise for a Director/Counsellor and from the applicants the Reverend Paul Bathurst was chosen. He was employed for 25 hours a week and was commissioned on the 24th. July 1994. A man of wide vision, gifted with compassion, Paul set up and supervised the practical working structure of the Care Centre and set up the processes of its operation.
The Choir Vestry room in Christ Church was chosen to house the Care Centre. As sufficient funds were available necessary alterations were made. These included re-locating a wall and extending the choir room, which became the training room and reception area. A small office was provided for Paul, (currently the office of the Parish Office Co-Coordinator) and counselling space was provided on the mezzanine floor/organ loft of the Church. A carpeted area and moveable screens provided some privacy although not much. One of the early presenting needs was for emergency food distribution and a foodbank had been developed in the Parish Office which was at that time in the Parish Hall. This created some problems as many journeys back and forth between the Centre Office and the Parish Office needed to be made to deal with the emergency food requirements of the clients.In September 1994, twenty eager people with a range of experience and qualifications expressed a willingness to exercise ministry in various areas, such as typing, reception, packing food, counselling, budgeting, prayer, making meals and cups of tea, shopping, driving, fundraising, looking after workers and interviewing. They were devoted to the work, committed to its effectiveness, keen to learn and firm in the Christian faith. Most were members of the Parish although very early on there were members of other churches who made the ministry ecumenical by their presence.
It was decided to open 9.00 am –3.00 pm Monday to Friday. Later this was extended to 9.00 am – 4.00 pm. Someone prayed every morning for the work in the Centre and was available to pray with clients every lunch-time.
At times the expectations of clients and helpers differed when defining what was ‘prayer’ and ‘counselling’.
This became very evident when clients were asked to contribute something towards their counselling and they would consider that they had only come for prayer for which there was no charge.
However it appeared that many were clearly in need of counselling and were using the prayer time as a form of free counselling.
This led to a change in policy where prayer work became a phone-in option and counselling was a face to face session which could also incorporate prayer at the request of the client. When people could genuinely not afford to contribute, counselling would still be offered. Paul — with help from Jan Stewart, Margaret Patchet, Annette Galbraith and Peter Deane — carried out the counselling work. Paul was very good in the basic setting up of the Care Centre but became ill soon after accepting the position of Director. He resigned after the Christmas holidays of 94/95. When Paul left, Annette Galbraith was appointed acting-Director and three months later the Board appointed her as Director.
Early on in the ministry Diana Court, an experienced social worker, counsellor and a tutor of counsellors in training, came to Whangarei and gave simple basic training of counselling principles to both the Care Centre staff and others. This allowed people to see the enormity of the undertaking and the on-going skills, training and support that would be required to function effectively.
Almost immediately a young Samoan woman came to us referred by the court. The care required for her and the attention to her needs taught everyone a huge amount. The Centre’s ministry kept her out of Preventive Detention and gave her some encouragement to handle her life more successfully. This was one of the tasks for which the Centre was paid (the first government contract!) as most other work was unpaid.
There was great excitement when someone felt able to give a donation for services rendered. About this time Wendy Reinsfield came in, a counsellor looking for counselling practice to go with her diploma in counselling. Of course there was a certain amount of sitting around until a client base grew so she would do other work like budgeting and prayer. Working days were busy with organizing training for budgeters, advocacy, understanding government agencies, planning and courses. There was one on ‘the five languages of love’ run by Peter, an abuse recovery course guided by Wendy and another with Judith Stuchbery who had joined also as a trainee counsellor.
From the beginning the Care Centre began to develop codes of practice and operating manuals with the aim of establishing consistency and high standards for the welfare of clients and staff.
The Church, Choir Loft, Vicar’s Vestry room and Chapel were in frequent use. At the same time Christ Church was being shared with the Catholic community who were in the process of building a new church so there were two sets of organ practice, many funerals and other church based ministries, which all had to share the seemingly small space with the growing Care Centre.
Friday was shared lunch day and burnt toast from the old flip-up toaster reminded various congregations that it was indeed lunch-time! Remembering back still brings blushes for some other faux pas that were made like the time someone cooked and burnt rice in the Quiet Room at the back of the church and the odour wafted across a funeral congregation. There was no air freshener available to change that smell!
Shared lunch days were also good discussion times too when other lively thinkers and talkers came in to eat with the workers. Actually it was a time when care-givers sat beside care-takers and it was interesting to see a very different ministry happening. Staff and clients were frequently challenged in their beliefs and some highly stimulating discussions arose on all manner of subjects. Yet it is to the credit of all staff that there was never a complaint from clients that Christian faith or ‘religion’ was ever pressed upon them.
The Care Centre quickly gained a good reputation with other agencies, with the public and with other churches. One of its ministries was providing in-service training for people previously unemployed, or who were re-training or up-skilling to widen their employment options. Government employment programmes such as Task Force Green provided a source of carefully selected staff to work primarily in office and reception roles both learning new skills and contributing to the life and work of the Care Centre. The wages for these folk came from the government programme.
Jessie Brosnahan, from WINZ Task Force Green programme in 1995 was the first of many of the office workers, Jill’s of all trades, who carried out a wide variety of tasks. They were gracious, obliging, strong and practical do-anything-for-everybody people that the Care Centre could not do without. People include Glenda Olliff, Donna Smith, Leeanne Quinn, Sarah Welsh, Ashleigh Latimer, Donna Williams and Denise Bucknell. Many developed their skills considerably and brought skills with them that enhanced the Care Centre life and ministry. Mihi Mahanga was the last of the Task Force Green helpers and her placement was at Selwyn Park Rest Home.
Office and administrative tasks had grown and changed with more detailed job descriptions. With additional staff, greater compliance requirements, increased workload, and government contracts the Care Centre Office administration was a major ministry. Volunteers have always been an added strength to the work. Margaret Mead and Catherine Stevenson helped in many capacities – that Margaret also did wonders with flowers and was a great contributor to the shared lunches was a huge bonus.
Budgeting developed early on as a vital part of dealing with foodbank clients, many of whom had few skills in basic home and financial management. Later it became a qualified programme in which people were trained and certificated to the national standards.
There were also counsellors in training who needed ‘client hours’ to complete their training requirements or to complete hours post training to become full members of their professional counselling organisation.
If the Care Centre had done nothing else but enable Christian Counsellors and Budget Advisers to complete their training it would have achieved a worthwhile goal – but of course it did much more.
In these early days the food bank was kept in a cupboard in the Parish Hall. Each time food was needed a volunteer had to walk across the extensive church grounds, cross the road, unlock the cupboard and collect the food. The too-ing and fro-ing was sometimes a problem especially in wet weather. Thank God there were lots of people who left their umbrellas behind in the church, the big golf umbrellas proving especially useful!
Food-bank demands increased and the choir cupboard was taken over after having a lock fitted for security (some clientele were very light fingered!) An alcove was made for the office (by the toilet) and a folding door provided to lock it when the church used the space. Handyman Barry did a great job with these ‘bits and pieces’ tasks.
People came in with every kind of story – lots of different ones: At times a large family group would appear with a request for a food parcel and take over the whole area. This could be rather disconcerting having a number of strangers wandering around the building ‘just having a look’. While it was understood that help was being asked for, it was not always clear from the beginning what the real needs were.
All who came in with a request for food, money, a bed, advice to make their money go round, family and personal issues were listened to. Sometimes there were doubts about their genuineness but they were handled with respect. Sharpened awareness of the facts and the growing skills and experience of the interviewer helped to identify the appropriate action to be taken by the Care Centre staff or volunteers.
Not only did it take quite a while to build up a liaison with Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ), the government agency dealing with people on benefits, but also with the other foodbank agencies. Once this occurred we could more effectively help people and put a stop to some of the ‘cruising’ of the foodbank network. It also meant that we could explore with clients the underlying issues rather than give easy handouts.
Eventually there was a risk of the food bank dominating the Care Centre and it took a large number of people to just pack food. Love-Link, a free service where people could collect food and goods, was also operating at that time. Unfortunately it became an ineffective service because too many people took too much – sometimes for re-sale. For a time the Care Centre had helped with Love Link but the philosophies and the type of help was too different. At this time people who operated food banks around the city began to work together, sharing knowledge, food and information as to how to best meet peoples’ needs and also identify the hunters and gatherers! There were people who just went around to all the outlets and abused the system. Being a doormat is not being the best help! Sometimes messages came from Auckland about someone doing the rounds but usually they wanted more than food.
At the same time those coming for counselling increased, often making appointments by phone or coming in off the street in response to the sandwich boards on the footpath that proclaimed the Centre’s purpose. These people did not easily mix with the food seekers and this caused some tensions.
In the end it was decided that the Food Bank was not where the Care Centre’s primary ministry lay. It became too difficult to juggle the foodbank with other services offered and there was insufficient space to do both. The food bank users often came with the whole family. When food no longer was the major thrust of the centre any supplies that came up by the boot or vanload from the Auckland City Mission was redirected straight to the Salvation Army foodbank and this practice continues today.
Today the Care Centre and the Anglican Christ Church each operate a small emergency foodbank but they are not advertised.
They are used as immediate relief for budget clients where a real need is identified and an effort is being made to change a situation. In the Church’s case it is at the discretion of the leadership.
With the end of the foodbank as a major ministry of the Care Centre many people were released for other roles.
Collecting the surplus bread about three times a week was one less routine job that required volunteers.
The Care Centre is a helping agency and some of the people who call are seriously distressed, mentally ill and in a generally precarious state. Some things that happened were horrific like the person who came in for help and later committed suicide. On another occasion someone needing help went berserk in the church! This created a very tense situation and a rising of more than one person’s anxiety level above normal.
Staff and volunteers needed to be able to put aside at the end of the day the sometimes heart-breaking situations they dealt with, knowing they had done all that they could. It is always difficult to do but these folk had family and personal lives of their own and needed their emotional energy for themselves. Because crisis care situations sometimes involved most of the staff on duty the encouragement of others and the ability to work through the situation and de-brief when the crisis was over is really important.
However confidence grew as experience was gained but the need for competent supervision for the workers was recognised as being really important.
Due to the large number of clients with mental health problems, Mike Fish, a Baptist pastor, set up a group called ‘Heart and Soul’, which ran every week as a Christian support group for those who struggled to stabilize their mental health. This group helped a number of people to manage their lives with greater success and eventually re-located to the Kamo Baptist Church.
Many people who need emergency food have significant problems managing their finances. The whole concept of budgeting is a great way to help people who want to be helped to manage their money successfully and many people have been empowered to do so through the budgeting service. Much time could be wasted offering help to people who actually didn’t want to make changes but really wanted to find someone to take away the debt and make it all better. It can be really rewarding work as very small changes can turn a person’s life around and bring hope for the future.
Gwen Turner was one of the early volunteers for budget advice and she was assisted along the way by many other volunteers.
THE MOVE TO 1 MILL ROAD
It was during 1997, with increasing pressure on the space available in the church, a Parish owned house at 2 Kamo Road was suggested as an alternative. There were all sorts of feasibility studies done, but in the end it became too difficult to reach agreement and find the money required to make the changes. There were also severe limits to the usefulness of a two-storeyed house with no downstairs toilet.
Another proposal was to convert the Parish Hall or part of it into a Care Centre and move the Parish Office into the church.A somewhat decrepit Parish house at 1 Mill Road was being used by Te Kohanga Reo as an office, (the Maori language pre-school networks), and by NURM (Northern Urban/Rural Mission).
However with the centralisation of the Te Kohanga Reo offices, NURM courteously agreed to move to the Parish Hall.
This meant that the house became available in October 1998 for the Care Centre with the Maori Pastorate retaining the use of one room.
As a result of this there was now more room and better facilities for the drop-in ministry. It was an excellent location on the corner of Deveron Street and Mill Road and was just over the road from the church. The house needed a lot of renovation, the foundations of the house had collapsed; one wall had dropped out of the ceiling joists, sitting at the dining table on the sloping floor required some balancing skills. There were windows that wouldn’t open, a pohutukawa tree growing on the side of the chimney and the state of the ablutions facility was very primitive.
However Max and Leith did invaluable work at that time, tightening the scrim and painting every room. Paint for the exterior was donated by a supplier and help was arranged with fencing for a child supervision area by the Periodic Detention people. Electrician Ray did a great job tidying up the vintage power system.
In spite of the state of the house it was the first separate home for the Care Centre and we were all very proud of it. Two telephone lines, emergency buttons, rooms that could be left set up – what a lovely feeling for staff and volunteers to be in a place that became home for us – ‘The White House’ as it became affectionately known!
The White House had one other advantage. The old and run-down appearance made many clients feel quite at home. No acres of gleaming glass and polished wood; no slick and luxurious décor to cause people to feel on unfamiliar ground!
Unfortunately the Deveron Street fencing was damaged on more than one occasion by road accidents at the Deveron Street/Mill Road intersection causing some uncomfortable dramas. On more than one occasion a car crashed right through the fence and took out the corner of the house veranda. Fortunately no children were in the area at the time and no-one was sitting on the veranda chairs! In spite of pleas to the Council, including a newspaper article highlighting the hazards of the corner with caring agencies on three sides of the intersection, it took some years for the corner to be fitted with barriers and lane markers.
In 1999 Cathy Tawera moved to Whangarei when her husband obtained a job with The James Family Centre, a family counselling agency. Cathy was appointed as Assistant Co-ordinator to share the load with Annette and was welcomed with a memorable powhiri.
Cathy had extensive experience with Government agencies and was knowledgeable with funding applications. Having previously worked for The Children and Young Persons Family Service (CYPFS) she was familiar with the way the Service worked and also knew many of the social workers. Her particular counselling skills lay in working with young people at risk. She was able to take the Care Centre forward into new areas of ministry and work.
This began with supervised access for children who needed a safe environment to meet with their families of origin under formal supervision requirements. Child Youth and Family began to contract other work to the Centre involving counselling disturbed young people.
Annette and Cathy shared the administration load until Cathy became established in her role. Annette retired from her role as Director at the Care Centre around May 2000. Annette had guided the Care Centre through its remarkable first seven years of life and development with skill, good humour and an abiding and strong faith. Having started as one of the founders of the Centre, she served as a volunteer, acting Director and then Director and has always retained a great interest in its progress.
As the ministry of the Care Centre grew it became obvious there was a growing need for help with the administration work.
Bren Butcher had been working as one of the team of volunteers assisting in the Parish Office where his admin skills soon became known and valued. Fortunately he accepted the challenge to join the team at the Care Centre, not because of the high salary and late model car, but rather the chance to work in high stress circumstances in the White House in a ministry he believed in. He received a very modest out-of-pocket expense allowance initially. At one stage, when money was in high demand and there was uncertainty as to how we were going to pay the month’s expenses, even that allowance wasn’t paid.
It was quite some time, in fact, before Bren received very minimal wages for the high stress job (which he saw as a ministry) that he was doing.
The stress came from two primary sources; one was the precarious financial situation that we teetered from month to month, and the second was that the various accounts that any social service agency incurs may not be able to be paid by the due date.
A Change of Direction | Another change at the top | Second look at budgeting | Directional changes again | More leadership changes | Care Centre moves a third time | Exposure on the national scene | Trust Board | 10 year celebrations | Stepping out to Waipu | August 2005 update | New Care Centre plans
There seemed to be a number of changes occurring, not only had Annette retired, but Gwen Turner the other main budget advisor also left to move with her husband to Tauranga. Suzanne Hogan stepped into the breach and brought another dimension of life to the Care Centre. At this time a new group of counsellors came, all having a belief in the vision and bringing different strengths to add to the bouquet of professionals already there. Helen Torr, Carol Shenton, Anne Ferguson and Tanya Goosen were welcomed with open arms.
Having Cathy’s expertise opened the way for the Centre to make wider application for grants to bring in income from different agencies and diverse charitable trusts. This became a major part of the administration work and Bren worked very hard to get applications in on time. In the past, trying to find somebody to carry out the painstaking task of both sourcing and applying for grants had always been an on-going problem. Over the years quite a number of different people have had a turn at that task with varying success. Although application was made for Government funding, this process was slow to say the least, and money was in short supply.
Then Cathy and her husband were both offered new jobs in Masterton, the opportunity for them to work together was too good to pass up. Whilst we lost Cathy’s ministry, her contribution to the Centre remains as we have enjoyed the benefits of her work in applying for and eventually receiving a substantial contract with Child Youth and Family.
So it was the end of another road; but just around the corner there was redirection and another door opened.
Margaret Strong took the reins from Cathy to lead the work of the Care Centre. From the beginning Margaret saw her time as limited in the role. She managed to keep the Care Centre operating through a very low financial period that saw most of the staff working in a voluntary capacity. Thankfully the Anglican Parish Vestry responded to a call for financial help at this time allowing the month by month living to continue.
Margaret’s strength was in policymaking, and with Bren’s assistance, Margaret continued the work on the KOPPS (Key Operational Policies, Procedures & Systems) document and completed the requirements. This was essential work without which we would not have received Government funding. The mission statement was also re-written, recognizing that many changes had been made along the roads travelled by the Care Centre since the start of operations in 1994. The motor was cranked up with a new strategic plan. Privacy, always a major concern, had to be protected. The balance was not always easily kept between essential records, who should have access to them, secure storage, even ownership issues between counsellors, clientele, supervisors, and Government departments. Careful analysis and clear communication, as well as the knowledge of legal requirements, was an ongoing journey of learning and careful practice.
The time came when funding, whilst always precarious, reached a real low, and there was fear that the doors might have to close. At this time we also lost two of our counsellors. Anne Ferguson went into private practice and was offered a position in counselling at the Bridge Programme and Tanya Goosen was offered a job working in Adolescent Mental Health at the hospital. It is said that “one door never closes without another opening” and at this stage Judith Ralphs started work as a volunteer at the Centre.
Volunteers had been assisting people with budget advice, but as more budget advice was being sought, it became obvious that Suzanne needed some support. Joyce Beehre gave her time to help with budget advice for while, as did Carol Shenton. However it became apparent that more could be done if the advisers were trained. Bren found himself taking more responsibility for the budgeting clients and the management of the budget advisers in addition to his admin work. It was at this stage that a decision was made to join the New Zealand Federation of Family Budget Services Inc training.
Margaret Malcolm, Bob Adams and Bren began this training in 2001 travelling to Auckland for the training on a weekly basis. They then worked with Whangarei Budget Services for their practical experience. Once certificated the Care Centre became members of the Federation and this has opened up access to more help for our clients.
One of the visions for the Care Centre was to have satellite outposts and this started to come to fruition at the end of the Federation training. Bob Adams began to work out of St Stephens Church at Onerahi, although it seemed he worked more often than not out of his car! This was our first “outpost”.
As various clients had debt that was costing them dearly with finance charges, surcharges and penalties some thought was given to starting ‘a bank of last resort’ and the Omega Loan Fund was birthed. The idea was to grant interest free loans in certain circumstances to clients to enable them to break free from excessive costs for basically essential items.
The concept of “shared lunches” was becoming somewhat unwieldy for a number of reasons. Shared lunch had become “free lunches” and we had, it seemed, become a lunch-time drop in centre. So with a very tight budget to consider, and an increased clientele “dropping in” our costs were escalating as we tried to feed everyone. Also as we increased the number of counsellors and clients, space was at a premium. Some of the folk who came for lunch were troubled individuals who at times confronted or questioned clients inappropriately. This experience trod a familiar path, where what began as a simple act of good will grew until people were overwhelmed, so change needed to be made. So once again the road changed.
Actually a whole lot of things changed all at once including the government funding policy. Suddenly we found ourselves in a position were there was no further funding available for seeing clients who needed assistance with budgeting. At this time Margaret Strong, who was experiencing some health issues and overworked in her priestly duties in addition to the Care Centre duties, resigned.
With the opportunity of training locally Sharron Somers, Janet Puriri and Carol & Harold Robson had taken up the challenge to become Budget Advisers. As space became more crowded in the White House it became obvious that our dream of satellite outposts needed to come into being, so we moved into the “market place” and set up branch ministries for budget advice in Ruakaka, where Margaret Malcolm worked with Carol & Harold, and Janet made plans to operate from St Paul’s Church in Kamo.
Helen Torr was appointed Senior Counsellor upon Margaret’s departure, undertaking some of the administration work with Bren.
She had joined the team as a volunteer working out her final training before qualifying as a counsellor. In late 2001 she began a trial work in Dargaville in conjunction with the backing of the Minister’s Association there to open a counselling service based at the Anglican Church Hall. With the help of Dorothy & Walter Gabriel, this work was to flourish and soon required two counsellors each Tuesday.
Helen’s wise counsel and insight has been a major part of the more recent success of the Care Centre. She was instrumental in bringing in more trainee counsellors – Joyce Beehre, Carol Kippenberger and Judy Nasarek – to assist them with the completion of their ‘client hours’. This is a real ‘win/win’ situation as it enabled more people to receive counselling and also assisted the trainee counsellors to complete their required hours.
It was also time to review how we operated the counselling service especially the aspect of the client making a more realistic contribution. This had a major effect on the finances and enabled counsellors to receive a more realistic return. However no one is turned away on the basis of having no money to pay for the service.
The ‘White House’ had become a decaying building on valuable land. The Parish Vestry had an opportunity to subdivide the section and needed to act quickly before changes to city by-laws would have prohibited this option. After much searching and negotiation we managed to secure rooms in the CCS building at 291 Kamo Road.
This move, in November 2002, was expensive and disruptive, but did allow for a break in some traditions, as well as a significant increase in working space in a more appropriate building. It is also on the bus route and has off-street parking. It severed the direct visible link with Christ Church but not the relationship. The clients continued to pour in and new ones came because of the new location. Change can bring good things. Contact with our landlords, CCS Northland, secured the premises at least till the end of 2005.
The setting up and opening of the budgeting service at Kamo was part of the strategic plan. This required liaison with two church congregations at St Paul’s and closer work with WINZ Kamo and Janet ‘opened the doors’ in 2003. MaryAnn Connor spent several months assisting her before taking up paid employment. Ann Tuffin also joined the ‘Kamo’ team.
The team was added to when Heather Gribben and Lyn Hutchinson, both counsellors in training, were given the opportunity to complete their ‘client hours’. Each has brought their own special skills and added to the flavour of the team.
Bren decided it was time to make a change and left in 2003 after tremendous service. Shirley Mellsop, who had come in to assist in the office in 2002, was then appointed Administrator and quickly proved exceptional in this very demanding role.
In June 2003 we hosted a Budget Advisor Training for the first time. Some twelve or so people enrolled on the course and 10 completed the theory part. Of these six completed their practical stage and we welcomed Margaret Skinner, Ann Tuffin, Erica Whyte, Penny Mashlan, Claire McIvor and Robin Dunn as Budget Advisers with our Agency. They are proving to be great assets as we have seen the new budget client numbers grow almost 80% over the last 12 months. It has also forged deeper links with St Andrews Presbyterian Church and St John’s Uniting Church through Erica and Penny.
Another change has been that Helen Bedford and Claire McIvor each work one day a week in the office. They began as volunteers but in 2004 became paid staff. Each has contributed to the life and well-being of the Care Centre team and clients.
Prayer has always been a central focus and while Vicky Gregson, Margaret MacKay, Ngaire Beehre and Nancy Bollen have been the “face” of the pray-ers, we are well aware of all those who faithfully pray in support. When we needed more clients for the new trainees we called them to pray specifically and from July to September we saw 60 new clients – the greatest increase on record! We almost said “Please stop praying”. As a team we meet daily before work for devotions and pray to uphold the clients and team. The Lord has answered in so many ways, He has provided miraculously at times and it is apparent that it is His stamp on the Care Centre. However, we are always careful not to push our beliefs on to clients but rather be Christians serving the community and responding to its needs.
In order for Budget Advisers in Ruakaka to complete their practical training, Margaret Malcolm travelled out each week to assist and supervise, and even today acts in an advisory role. One particular family’s needs came to their notice when it was felt they had been very unfairly dealt with by their insurers when their house was burned down.
An unwise statement was made by the owners to the insurers that some property lost was of greater value than its true worth. This led to the insurer nullifying the total insurance claim – building and contents alike. While we did not endorse the untruth, it still seemed extraordinary that the building itself should not be replaced so Margaret approached ‘Fair Go’. The next few days were a whirl of activity as Fair Go took up the cause. Interviews were done with the clients and Margaret – and we all watched the programme as it went to air. The result was very acceptable and the clients are currently looking at how to best to ‘rebuild’.
The spin-off from the programme was immediate and certainly raised the level of awareness of our service without compromising our standards – some even asked for “the lady that was on Fair Go”. The Ruakaka service is now part of the Bream Bay Community Trust and has become a full member of the NZ Federation of Family Budget Service.
Update: Habitat for Humanity took up the challenge to help out and they completed a new home for the family. The home was dedicated on Saturday 25th June 2005 and the family moved in. A ‘follow up’ on the story appeared on ‘Fair Go’ on Wednesday 29th June.
John and Joyce came as Co-Vicars of the Anglican Parish of Whangarei in July 1996. Both had extensive experience of Care Centre-type ministry through their work as lay people in the 1960s and 70s at the Christchurch City Mission. This included a drop-in centre, work training, community house supervision, hostel and night shelter management and crisis intervention.
John became the primary contact between Parish and Care Centre and worked to strengthen the partnership. Most of the congregations and leadership of the Parish were happy to embrace the Care Centre. The Church has always been made available and a decision not to charge rent or power costs was approved by Vestry. A small group however have not always been so supportive and especially objected to the Centre’s free accommodation in Church property and also the occasions when it was necessary to ‘bail them out’ financially.
John has stressed that the Parish and Care Centre are partners in ministry and each mutually benefit from the extension of this vitally important outreach ministry. This understanding now appears to be more widely accepted and appreciated. There have been many occasions when people have called in to the Parish Office when their needs were such that only the Care Centre could adequately deal with them.
John has always encouraged the ongoing training and qualifications of staff both for their own learning and for the protection of the ministry and its clientele.
The Trust Board has always been a ‘hands-on’ group of people. While there have been occasional issues of governance/management the Board has worked very effectively together with senior staff members. So many have served on the Board over the years that it would be difficult to single anyone out however Ray Blomquist needs heroic mention. He chaired the Board through some of the most difficult financial and staffing periods and always held the Centre’s good at heart.
More recently, Ray Mellsop has been a tower of strength, especially helping with the accounting records. Since regular money comes in through a government contract as well as other grant funding and donations, the Centre could at last be described as reasonably financially secure.
Don Gregson, who in the early days gave oversight to keeping the books straight, is again Treasurer. He has a comprehensive and wise overview and is delighted at the progress made. His enthusiastic support is greatly appreciated by the Board and office staff alike.
In the year 2004 all the counsellors are paid and out of pocket expenses given for the budget advisors. It is stressed that the counsellors cannot be paid at ‘marketplace’ rates so they are still offering their ministry at the Care Centre as part of their Christian commitment.
Like anything alive and well, the original vision has changed and grown. It seems the road is likely to change once again with the need to eventually find another home – this time a permanent place where there might even be place to grow a garden.
On 11th September 2004 we marked the occasion of the 10th year of the Trust by having a Celebration Dinner in the Parish Hall. This was attended by over 60 people and was a memorable time of reminiscing and catching up. What a joy to see the founders right through to the current team all enjoying time together and sharing some of the highlights over the years.
Rev Neil Fuge was to have been the guest speaker but health issues prevented him and Natalie from travelling up. However, Ron Galbraith as Master of Ceremonies kept things flowing. A message from Neil and Natalie was read and then the sharing began. A service giving thanks to God for His goodness over the years followed on Sunday morning. Care Centre people shared in the service and Rev John Marcon brought an encouraging and inspiring message. It was a delight to share ‘at grass roots’ level with the congregation who had the vision and courage to step out in faith and who have passed the baton on to others as time went on.
In December 2004 we farewelled John & Joyce Marcon as they left to minister in Milford, Auckland; Bob Adams who decided to finish as a Budget Advisor after long and faithful service; and Carol Shenton who is looking to use her counselling skills elsewhere. We praise God for all the people who have served the Care Centre and look with hope to our next steps in Him in 2005!
After a number of enquiries about counselling in the Ruakaka/Waipu area we decided to consider how these may be met in the best way. It led to contact with Rev Peter Dunn of the Presbyterian Church in Waipu and, following the approval by his leadership, we began a Thursday counselling service in Waipu. The number of Heather Gribben’s clients grew quickly and the community was receiving a much needed service.
For a long time we had a dream of having a permanent home and many avenues had been explored as to where it would be best located. We kept coming back to the location of Mill Road/Deveron Street and so negotiations with Vestry began for the use of the two sections. Progress has been made but much work is still to be done. It would be great to bring our history up-to-date in 2006 with real progress towards our ‘dream’ and to be relocated again to close proximity with the Church – the founder of this ministry.
It was with sadness that we saw the passing of Ron Galbraith – one of the original team who set up the Care Centre. He would surely be pleased with the forward movement of the ministry and especially with the developing plan of a purpose built “home” for the Care Centre. The baton passes on to those who have the vision and courage to step out in faith to see this become a reality for the good of our community.
Mid 2005 Geoff King of Harrison King Architects began work on plans to build a new centre on the two sections where the ‘White House’ used to be. These plans were taken to the Anglican Parish of Whangarei special meeting where approval and support were given. The two storied building would also house the Parish family worker and a possible senior support worker.
A possible plan was established on how to raise the necessary funds and these were discussed with the Parish Vestry. The next move was to complete the work necessary to obtain Resource Consent from the Whangarei District Council and the application was lodged in February 2006.
Fundraising begins | Friends | More budget advisors trained | Fundraising for new centre | Team changes and challenges | Charities Commission | Completion of Building | New Strategic Plan | The Future |
Fundraising began and one of the first things undertaken was to prepare to ‘sell’ glass bricks to form a major feature window in the new building. A competition was run in the five local secondary schools for pupils to ‘design’ this window using a given quantity of bricks but with some artistic options in the colours. The competition was won by Ihaka Dunn of the Kamo High School and the prizes were presented by Whangarei Mayor, Pamela Peters, in April.
Bricks are being sold at two different values – the paler colours at $400 each and the sapphire blue at $1000. This will be a lasting artwork and donors can choose the title they wish to appear on the brick.
The Parish has taken a keen interest in the project and have made a substantial grant towards the building and will continue to work closely with us. An application for funds has gone to ASB Trusts and we continue to seek financial help from our community.
While we would have hoped that the building had been completed in 2007, delays in funding now mean that building will hopefully start before the end of 2007. We are very grateful to the ASB Community Trust for their grant of $150,000. We also thank the many service clubs in our district who have got behind the project.
Our ‘friends’ play an important role in the work and we would like to increase the numbers. Our Trust Deed actually gives the privilege of voting rights to ‘friends’. To receive a brochure on what it means to be a friend, please contact us at 09 437 6397 and we will happily send one out to you. A subscription as a friend is determined at the Annual General Meeting and is currently $25.00 per annum per household or per group.
In July/August we hosted another NZ Federation of Family Budgeting Services basic Budget Adviser training. Those who will join our service are Ross Ansley, Marion Moon, Helen Bedford, Bruce and Helen Matheson. Bruce & Helen are from Waipu and will hopefully be able to serve their own area once they have completed their practical work. Kaikohe and Whangarei budget services also gained new Budget Advisers following the training.
Whangarei Leader and Combined Insurance of NZ ran a ‘Make it Happen’ award and the $800.00 we gained from this went towards meeting the costs of the training.
Raising the necessary funds to build continued through 2006 and 2007 with many different avenues explored. After the ASB Community Trust turned down our first application for funding we had to re-think the way ahead. The initial disappointment was great but following that we began to further develop our profile and our presentation to the general public. Encouragement to press forward was given when we received a $40,000 gift towards the project.
The joint enterprise committee were delighted when Paul Shepherd joined us to assist with the fund raising efforts. His first task was to look at how the Care Centre work was viewed by other agencies and professionals in the area, and to develop an effective written presentation that could be used to both raise the profile of the Centre and to gain financial support. This material surprised us all and we were heartened to see that over 30 agencies refer clients to the Centre. It also revealed that around 30 people are involved in the work in either voluntary or paid capacities.
A Sponsored Promotional Dinner was held in July 2007 inviting local service clubs and media along with business owners who had sown into the Centre in the early days. Roger White and Ruth Penny from Auckland entertained free of charge; Cowley’s Hire Centre provided tables, punch bowl etc; Ruth Penny and the Board members catered for the meal. In all, this gave impetus to involve the community further in the project and it is great that clubs have ‘bought a brick’ and/or invited us in to show our power point presentation.
Just prior to our AGM on 23rd September 2007, we had word from ASB Community Trust that they had agreed to grant us $150,000 towards the project! Within minutes of finding this out, a call was received from the Sunrise Rotary Club in Whangarei to enquire about the project and wanting to put a sizeable portion into a specific part of the project! There was much rejoicing!
An application for $120,000 is before both Lotteries Community Facilities Board and Lion Foundation to complete the major funding for the project. The outcome will be known in December.
Meanwhile we press on towards the goal. Building consent is before the Whangarei District Council. Builders will be approached in the near future to tender for the project.
In 2007 Sally Shepherd joined us as a trainee counsellor. She is studying at Welltech.
Ann Tuffin took over the full role as Budget Co-ordinator and Margaret Malcolm began to reduce hours as she moves towards retiring. Carina Wykes trained as a Budget Advisor. Janet Puriri began serving each Wednesday at ‘The Pulse’ where they requested budget advice help for those who attend the ‘one stop shop’ for various social services.
We have been approached by NorthAble to give them one day per week of budget advice in their premises in John Street. We were also approached by Kamo High School to run a short free budgeting course as a ‘night class’ – this will trial in October with Marion Moon and Ann Tuffin tutoring.
In 2007 we were engaged in some more supervised access sessions. Space is limiting but it is hoped that, with new and adequate premises, we will be able to get more involved next year.
With the requirements for charitable trust changes coming up in the near future we applied for registration as soon as we could. On 11 July 2007 we were certificated and our registration number is CC10599. Another positive step forward in the life of Whangarei Anglican Care Trust!
In October at the Board meeting it was agreed that we needed to press on towards starting the building early January. In order to do this we needed to be sure that we could finance the project even if our application was turned down. The proposal was that bridging finance be sought – but that the Board would need to be first to put up their hands. A miracle took place around the meeting table that day when over $100,000 of short term finance was pledged – each and every one had taken ownership and responsibility and we were able to press forward!
In November we realised that we needed to have a Faculty from the Anglican Diocese of Auckland before building could begin. John Blyth aided us in preparing the necessary documents to file. Bob Adams, Paul Shepherd and Shirley Mellsop all travelled to Auckland to the Faculty meeting and came home rejoicing that it was granted there and then!
Mid December we heard that the Whangarei District Council had issued our Building Permit and that funding of $110,000 had been approved from Lotteries Community Facility Fund. We were then in a position to let the contract which was won by A Line Builders of Kamo.
Bishop Kitohi blessed the site and turned the first sod on December 31st 2007 in preparation of actual building.
John Torr is ready to do the work of Project Manager.
We got off to a great start – beginning the building process a few days ahead of schedule. Only one day was lost to bad weather and it was a remarkable programme where all targets were met on time.
The community got behind us and we have many to thank for their generous donations of time, product and financial assistance. They are acknowledged with glass brick notation in our feature wall.
We were able to move into the building on May 16th ready to open for clients on Monday 19th. Generous grants from The Trusts Charitable Foundation and The Oxford Sports Trust enabled us to equip the building with fixtures and fittings prior to our official opening.
Bishop John and Bishop Kitohi jointly opened the building in a special ceremony attended by many dignitaries and friends of the Centre on Sunday 22nd June. Great rejoicing was had by all, especially Rev Neil Fuge who had the original vision for the work.
With such a wonderful facility we have been able to enjoy it with many other community groups.
We added Ruakaka counselling this year with the services of Carol Tolley, as well as expanding the counselling team in Whangarei – Becky Joyce joined us as a Trainee Counsellor.
Dianne Harris joined our team – Dianne is a qualified budget advisor who came to us from the North Shore when she and her husband relocated to Whangarei. At the end of the year we sadly farewelled Margaret Skinner, who had served almost five years as a budget advisor.
We were blessed in receiving a grant from The Trusts Charitable Foundation in order to purchase a new photocopier – our latest newsletter was printed ‘in house’ and in colour on this wonderful new asset!
Late in the year our IT consultant told us about charities being able to receive software from Techsoup (Microsoft). This enabled us to apply and receive software to the value of over $9500 for around $380! What a difference this makes to us. The Oxford Sports Trust enabled us to buy two new computers plus back-up equipment.
Ray Mellsop stepped down from the Chairman’s role and was replaced by John Blyth. John has a background in commerce. He completed his masters’ degree in Strategic Planning so is in a great position to lead us into the next phase of our operation.
As we face challenging economic times the year has begun with a huge increase in budgeting clients along with a steady flow of counselling clients. Opportunities have arisen to speak to many groups about Budget Advice and we look forward to having some workshops here in the future.
A Woman to Woman course is held in Dargaville and also in Whangarei. Work is done on a Public Relations package offering our services to the business community. We look forward to a positive response to this.
A basic budget adviser training was held in April / May and we hope that we were able to add to our team of dedicated volunteers – Adrienne Hutchings, Jane Cronin and Andrew Brown.
Sadly, Helen Torr stepped out of the role of Manager/Senior Counsellor but remains part of the counselling team. Her contribution over the last nine years has been invaluable, and her leadership has brought about clarity of purpose and professionalism to all aspects of the service.
Joyce Beehre took up the role of Counselling Co-ordinator and management took on a new shape. The management team consists of the Counselling Co-ordinator, the Budgeting Co-ordinator and the Administrator – with oversight and assistance from the Board Chairman.
Now that we have achieved the building programme we can concentrate on ways to serve our community even better. A number of group programmes will be offered along with possible moves to support businesses with staff training and equipping.
Growth
To increase and enhance the social services that we can provide to our communities.
Quality and Education
To enhance our programmes to meet the needs of our clients; to pass all audits with merit; and to be proactive in developing the service and to retain top professionals.
Administration and Finance
Through financial responsibility and management, to provide a stable framework for expansion of current programmes.
Promotion
To promote the services we provide to our community and districts.
We immediately started implementing this plan both through our annual budget and through our approaches to staffing. In October Di McLiver started as administrative assistant to help with the ever increasing demands in the office. By December we had also selected a new team member, Judy Nasarek, to fill a brand new position – that of a ‘Seniors Community Worker’ to work with over 65s to assist them in staying in their own homes for as long as possible. To do this will take a lot of liaison with groups in the community and we see this as a pivotal role. Selwyn Foundation and Minchin Trust have funded this position.
Enneagram Workshop
In August Brian and Paulette Berryman travelled from Palmerston North to conduct an Enneagram Workshop. This was opened up to the wider public and was well received with 35 people attending.
Community Education – Budgeting
Dianne Harris was appointed to this position in August 2009. She has a passion for education and by the end of the year has run courses with People Potential, Kamo High School Adult Education and run numerous short presentations with various groups both in Whangarei and Dargaville. She began ‘in house’ courses with ‘Creative Christmas’ – a two hour workshop making inexpensive Christmas gifts and giving helpful tips to prevent overspending. It is anticipated that there will be a couple of workshops each term.
Courses
The Woman to Woman course was run in Whangarei. This ten week course was facilitated by Irene Peeters, Helen Torr and Sally Shepherd.
A Boundaries Course was run in conjunction with Te Ora Hau. This was well attended and plans are in place for further networking
The ‘Healthy Living’ series was run by Heather Gribben. We hope that these will be a regular feature on our calendar both at the Care Centre and at other venues.
The basic structures are well in place to serve our community. With the addition in January 2010 of our Seniors Community Worker the service will continue to grow and develop.
Our trained staff will listen carefully and help our clients to find answers. This confidential service is offered in a Christian environment.
Phone: 09 437 6397
Office Hours: 9am-5pm Mon-Fri
Email: whgcare@whgcare.org.nz
Address:
1 Mill Road,
Regent, Whangarei
(Corner Mill Road and Deveron St)
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