New Wellington City Mission building to begin full operations in November

Thursday, 10 October 2024

After six years in the making, there will finally be an official opening and dawn ceremony at Whakamaru on October 30.

A new community hub and home to many of the Wellington City Mission’s services will be fully operational in November after six years in the making.

An opening ceremony for Whakamaru is planned for October 30 when the site will be blessed with a dawn ceremony. It would then be open to staff and manuhiri at the beginning of November before full operations began on November 18, city missioner Murray Edridge said.

Whakamaru’s 35 long-term transitional housing units will be home for individuals and families.

Whakamaru’s 35 long-term transitional housing apartments will be home for individuals and families. There will also be a koha-based cafe, a social supermarket, social services including counselling providers, a medical centre, chapel and Wellington City Mission’s head office.

Residents would be moving in to the building in December.

Residents will be able to move in from December.

The building was intended not only for those supported by the Mission but also to be used by the public, including the cafe and meeting room spaces, Edridge said.

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A community-based crisis and recovery cafe would be open around the clock. It would provide immediate support to individuals and whānau in mental distress through one-to-one peer support, de-escalation and safety planning to those who were not at immediate risk of harm to themselves or others.

With increasing demand on its services, it was crucial to “re-think how we ‘do community’,” Edridge said. Whakamaru would provide care and support for those who need it but also act as a community hub for everyone in Wellington.

“Whakamaru will re-shape how Wellingtonians support and care for each other, bringing us all together under one roof and eliminating the divide between ‘us and them’.”

It was the Mission’s 120th anniversary this year and the new space represented an important milestone in its history, Edridge said.

Community practitioners on-site included social workers, counsellors, addiction support workers and financial mentors – all providing support across areas such as housing, income, health, education and whānau support.