Live for More charitable trust's operations manager Megan Warn (left) with the trust's founder Krista Dixon and her five-month-old daughter Praise Te Ariki at the trust's new rented premises in Arataki. Photo / Mead Norton
Live for More charitable trust's operations manager Megan Warn (left) with the trust's founder Krista Dixon and her five-month-old daughter Praise Te Ariki at the trust's new rented premises in Arataki. Photo / Mead Norton
A trust that helps at-risk young people has moved to new premises thanks to a funding boost of more than $1 million.
Tauranga charitable trust Live for More, which works with at-risk young people to help them turn their lives around, has moved to bigger premises closer to Mount Maunganui beach.
The trust’s programmes include surf therapy, group therapy, one-on-one clinical and life-skill sessions, and also cultural sessions.
Live for More founder and executive director Krista Dixon said for the past five years, the trust had operated from a one-room office in a three-bedroom property on Cameron Rd which had been “bursting at the seams” for some time.
Dixon said she and her husband Jared, who also worked for the trust, became parents for the first time five months ago, and their daughter Praise Te Ariki, which means ‘Praise the Lord’ in Māori, was another incentive for them to continue doing what they do.
She said their clients, aged from 17 to 25, were helped to find “freedom from their troubled past” and live positive and fulfilling lives, and the majority had been involved in crime or antisocial behaviour.
“Many of our clients come from dysfunctional families and have experienced past traumas. Most have never had a fair start in life from birth.”
Dixon said Live for More worked with and supported about 50 to 60 young people a year, and some of those still needed a lot of ongoing support after graduating from one of the trust’s intensive programmes.
After 16 months of searching, they had finally secured new premises on Owens Place in Arataki, and were moving into their new rented building this week, she said.
“No longer will our staff, running our three programmes, have to be crammed into one tiny office.”
Live for More charitable trust founder Krista Dixon (right) and operations manager Megan Warn move items into the trust's new premises in Arataki. Photo / Mead Norton
Dixon said having private conversations had been “very difficult”, and sometimes the trust’s operations manager, Megan Warn, had to sit in her car in order to have them.
“We’re beyond excited to finally secure bigger premises after a long and, at times, painful journey - to find a suitable place that meets our needs. Praise the Lord.”
She said the new building was almost four times the size of their existing office, and the trust had secured a three-year tenancy.
Charitable trust Live for More's new rented premises in Owen Place, Arataki. Photo / Mead Norton
Dixon said some changes were needed at the new building to make it fit for their purposes. It also needed resource consent because it was located in an industrial zone, so in the meantime, some of the trust’s one-on-one programmes would continue to be run from the former premises.
“I’ve been told by a local builder I need an expert in commercial fit-out regulations, as the changes are more than just putting up a couple of extra walls to create small spaces for our one-on-one sessions.”
Dixon said they also planned to transform a warehouse-sized area at one side of the building into a box-fit gym and fitness area, and include a “hang-out space” and drop-in centre for their clients.
“I’m keen to connect with someone in the commercial gym and fitness sector who can better advise me on what equipment I should be getting - hopefully someone who can also offer us a good price. We need more than just a few dumbbells, for sure.
Live for More founder Krista Dixon and her five-month-old daughter Praise Te Ariki, standing in the trust's new premises in Owens Plc, Arataki. Photo / Mead Norton
Dixon said moving to the new premises had been made possible because of donations and $1.1 million from the Proceeds of Crime Fund over three years, which has been tagged to specific items.
“Some of this funding is going towards paying our increased rent at the new premises and has also allowed us to expand our team from five to nine staff.
“Because our new premises is closer to the beach, we can do lots more surf therapy with our clients and more often, and having more multiple-programme rooms allows us to work with even more young people. We’re absolutely pumped.”
Dixon said she wanted to publicly thank Bill Holland, of Holland Beckett Law firm, who had donated his time and legal expertise to help make the move a reality.
“Bill has been the most supportive and incredibly generous person, including him advocating for us with landlords during our search. We really couldn’t have done this without him. Uncle Bill, as I now call him, has been amazing. I can’t sing his praises enough.”
Holland, also TECT chairman, said Dixon and her team were doing some “incredibly important” work helping many young people “get their lives back on track”, and he was only too happy to support the trust’s mahi.
Holland said Dixon had “impressed him” from their first meeting late last year, not only because of her huge passion for what she does, but also because the trust had a proven record of making a difference.
