News
5 April, 2013
Temporary accommodation for homeless women is to open in Wellington late this month.
The Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust will run the accommodation in the central city to house up to five women for a maximum three months. The women must be referred to the trust.
The trust, chaired by Rongotai MP Annette King, has been working for the past two to three years to secure a two-year lease.
In a letter to donors, Annette King said the ‘accommodation consists of six bedrooms in an apartment block just off Manners Street in central Wellington with its own separate entrance. The contract to lease the accommodation is being signed as I write this letter.’
The trust is presently recruiting a house manager to occupy the sixth room.
‘The accommodation will be communal living in a women-only space [offering] support for them to adjust to the differing situations they are facing which have caused them to be homeless,’ the letter says. The women will also be offered help to access other available services which includes support to gain more permanent housing and to meet some of their own personal needs.’
The trust includes Srs Marcellin Wilson rsm, Catherine Hannan dolc, Raye Boyle lcm, Jeff Drane, Nance Thompson and has as its vision ‘To provide safe emergency accommodation for women who need it’.
Its mission is to provide short-term emergency accommodation in Wellington city for women on their own who are homeless, working in collaboration with other social services to access support to work with women to move into long-term and sustainable housing options.
The group of volunteers encourages women who need some support to make a difference in their lives by being empowered to be independent with their choices.
Visit www.homeless.org.nz for more information, and click here for a personal story of life on the street.