On Feb 8th our guest speaker David McKenzie spoke about the Dunedin Night Shelter. As manager of the Night Shelter, David spoke with engaging and caring concern for the people who find themselves in homeless situations. David shared insights and stories as he told us about the origins of the night shelter, how it operates, how it's financed, how it helps homeless people, and how the future of the Dunedin Night Shelter might look.
The Night Shelter was established in 2004 and is entirely community funded. Volunteer groups supply donations of food, clothing, bedding. Super Grans Dunedin for example, prepare and provide daily meals and packed lunches, and Servants Health Centre offer fee medical services. The Dunedin Night Shelter Trust highly values all the amazing volunteer contributions that enable it to offer the service that it does. The shelter provides a warm and welcoming bed for the night where few rules or questions asked. No alcohol or drugs are permitted. Few people are excluded but the shelter is just that, a place for one night's shelter from 6pm or for up to five nights stay maximum. While it is homely, it is not home. After five nights more permanent suitable accommodation must be found. This is a challenge in Dunedin as suitable accommodation is in short supply. While people can return to the night shelter, there is a six week stand down period. Sometimes people have to resort to living on the street in makeshift camps. David believes there are some 300-400 homeless persons struggling and living like this in our area. The Night Shelter is working very hard to help integrate and improve the co-ordination between the support agencies.The Dunedin Night Shelter trust also operates a neighbouring facility to the Night Shelter called the Phoenix Lodge. This is a place where people, particularly men coming out of prison can find short term (12 weeks) stepping stone accommodation. A new $500K building improvement project for the Night Shelter is currently planned. This will enable them to accommodate more people. Approx $200K has already been found and fundraising is in peak progress. David is optimistic they will meet the goal in the near future. If you would like more information about how you can help visit https://dunedinnightshelter.co.nz/how-can-i-help/How Can I Help?
