City Mission redevelopment opened by Christchurch Mayor
June 8 was a very special day for us as we officially opened our new $11 million redevelopment and our third building – the new Foodbank – was blessed.
It began a new era in our history as we launch innovative new ways to care for the people who need our help.
Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger formally opened the redevelopment and praised our contribution to the city saying: “A lot of us are aware of the very important services that the Christchurch City Mission has provided over many years, in fact 95 years.
Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger opened the City Mission Redevelopment
“the Mission has responded to the complex and changing needs of our most vulnerable community members and has developed programmes and services that have made a lasting difference to the lives of a lot of people”
“Over that time that the Mission has responded to the complex and changing needs of our most vulnerable community members and has developed programmes and services that have made a lasting difference to the lives of a lot of people.”
The official opening was held in the upstairs offices of the new Foodbank and warehouse building at 275 Hereford Street. Guests and dignitaries took a tour of the new building afterwards while Bishop Peter Carrell blessed the rooms and the outside of the building.
Our redevelopment consists of three new buildings.
The first stage of the “community village” was completed in October last year and comprised the Thrive Community Café building and our new transitional housing building. The just-completed second stage houses our traditional and self-serve Foodbank operations, a warehouse area and offices.
Thrive Community Cafe, pictured left and Whakaora Kainga Transitional Housing (rear building)
We will use the work we do in these buildings, combined with the existing City Mission services across the road at 276 Hereford Street, to create a community village of support for the most vulnerable in our city.
“What we now have on the site makes us as relevant today as we were 95 years ago. You need good volunteers, staff and supporters to help other people, and we have them, but these facilities will let us do an even better job of care,” City Missioner Corinne Haines said.
“Innovation is the key to moving forward and being able to fully support the vulnerable people in our city in our changing times. And thank you to all those who came before me who had this vision and had the courage to do this development.
The café is innovative with its affordable pricing and welcoming atmosphere, the transitional building we call Whakaora Kāinga is innovative for its communal living and wrap-around support, and the Foodbank now gains a self-serve option which will transform the dignity around receiving help with food.
A journey of innovation:
The Thrive City Mission Community Café opened to the public in late October 2022 and our vision for it struck an immediate chord with the city. We deliberately made prices low and as accessible to as many people in our community as possible so everyone can afford a visit. It has become a café destination for an extraordinary mix of people from a wide range of backgrounds. This gives it a unique personality and atmosphere that is both uplifting and accepting.
The new transitional housing building we call Whakaora Kāinga is three storeys and contains three apartments and 15 beds. Residents are former homeless people, many of whom will have stayed in our men’s and women’s emergency shelters on our site. We have created an innovative approach to transitional housing by combining communal living with heavily structured support from our staff. The usual approach for transitional is individual apartment living. We provide courses and activities designed to lift residents’ confidence and skills and remove barriers to enable them to successfully move to permanent accommodation. The stay in this facility is around three months.
The self-serve Foodbank has been added to our usual pre-packed food parcels operation will be the first of its type in the South Island. Our Foodbank has gained the name Pou Manaaki and in the self-serve section clients will create their own food parcels by selecting food from shelves as happens in a supermarket. Choosing their own food is mana-enhancing for our clients. Being able to choose their own food empowers them and at a practical and efficient level they are likely to use it all and enjoy it more.