Providing assistance for one-off emergency or long-term problems.
Whether it's a specific issue that has led people to the Mission, the continuing poverty cycle, or a culmination of many problems, the Mission's social workers are there to help.
Auckland City Mission's Crisis and Community Care staff provide Emergency Food Parcels, assistance with other agencies (eg Housing New Zealand, WINZ etc), assessments, internal referrals (to GP, Detox etc) and external referrals to other servcoe providers.
Emergency assistance is available at:
140 Hobson Street, Auckland Central
Phone: 09 303 9200
11 Albion St, Otahuhu
Phone: 09 276 5022
Both offices are open from 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday.
Integrated Service:
The initial assessment with a social worker is one step in an integrated approach within the Mission's services. The Homeless team, the Calder Centre staff and Detox staff work alongside social workers to ensure the best outcome for clients. Examples include: social workers assess a client's financial situation to recommend a suitable fee for the client to pay when visiting the GP at the Calder Centre; referrals to Social Detox are preceded by a drug and alcohol assessment carried out by a Social Worker or Community Alcohol and Drug Worker.
Advocacy
One of the key functions of the team is to provide a voice, to advocate when the client is unable - whether it's about accessing benefits, dealing with debt collection agencies or navigating through bureaucratic paperwork. When many clients are seen to be affected by an issue, such as high interest rates or lack of income, the Mission will advocate on their behalf.
Working in Partnership:
The Mission has a social worker on hand at Work and Income's Queen Street office every day to help guide people through the process and eliminate stress for some of those who may be more vulnerable. The Mission works in partnership with Middlemore Hospital, Glen Innes Family Centre and other agencies to support families in crisis.
Emergency Food Parcels:
The Mission's emergency food parcels are designed to feed a family or individual for 4 days to get them through an immediate crisis. Food parcels are nutritionally balanced and are made up of simple items that families can make into healthy meals along with essential toiletry items.
We also provide solo parcels for families and assistance with food for a one off/short term situation.
Clients are asked to provide the following information when requesting food assistance:
- Photo identification
- A decline letter from WINZ showing that no special need grant is available and a breakdown of the WINZ benefit received.
- A bank statement with at least the last transactions listed.
The Auckland City Mission distributed 10,235 emergency Food Parcels in the last financial year (from July 2011 to June 2012), up from 8,793 parcels the previous year.
If you would like to help the Auckland City Mission provide support to those who need it most, please make a donation here
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