Caring is sharing for community helpers

Did you know there’s an organisation that can help if you feel you’ve been overcharged by a utility services provider? Or that if you’re a migrant from Latin America and struggling to adapt to a new life in New Zealand, there’s a group ready to assist? Representatives of Utilities Disputes and Aotearoa Latin American Community Inc respectively had the opportunity to let other fellow community grass-roots service providers know what they do and vice-versa at a recent inaugural get-together. Organised by Citizens Advice Bureau Pakuranga and held at Te Tuhi, it’s proposed that the community networking meetings are held every two months. The forums enable attendees to address the group or talk one-to-one with like-minded helpers. Vani Kapoor, community services coordinator at CAB Pakuranga, says attending were people from more than 30 bodies working directly with people of the east Auckland community on varying issues. “The purpose is to create a platform for community organisations to meet, share, cooperate, coordinate, collaborate, and connect for positive beneficial outcomes for our local clients and community. “We received a very encouraging response as everyone felt there was a great need for this. “Representatives from over 30 organisations attended, including court navigators from the Ministry of Justice, Dress for Success, Salvation Army, Manukau Institute of Technology, New Settlers Family and Community Trust, and Auckland Libraries,” says Kapoor. The Times also spoke with people from Pregnancy Choice, East Health Trust, Youth Project NZ, the Health and Disabilities Commission, Asian Family Services, Seasons for Growth, Howick Baptist Healthcare, and English Language Partners. Funding for the support of the meeting came from the Howick Local Board, and its attending member Adele White said it was pleased to be able to assist in bringing together people who are doing important work in the community helping others. “We were very encouraged by the positive feedback we received and propose to have the next meeting in late October / early November,” Kapoor says.