Tauranga Citizens Advice Bureau's move to Cameron Rd sparks new 'lease of life'

Tauranga CAB manager Claire Hine and one of the longest volunteers Janet Freeman. Photo / Sandra Conchie

Tauranga's Citizens Advice Bureau has a new home and a new lease on life.

It is attracting and helping hundreds more people than usual after the move to Cameron Rd, manager Claire Hine says.

The charitable organisation's home of 45 years on Hamilton St was demolished as part of the Civic Redevelopment Programme resulting in the move to 367 Cameron Rd two weeks ago.

Hine said the service had a new "lease of life".

"We've had a 10 to 15 per cent increase in demand for our services in the past two weeks, which is exactly what we hoped for," Hine said.

"We love being more visible and accessible to the community and want to raise awareness of our services to help even more people."

She said in the past two years 20,100 people had been given information and advice, an increase of 322 people.

This included more than 6000 clients who were helped with legal and governmental issues, 4980 people who attended outreach drop-in clinics and 1328 who received other bureau services.

Tauranga Citizens Advice Bureau's headquarters in the early days of its 45 years at the same site in Hamilton St. Photo / Supplied

Hine said since the Citizen Advice Bureau's humble beginnings in 1977, the number of volunteers had grown from less than a handful to 56 - and more volunteers were always needed.

"We have come a long way since opening our doors 45 years ago when we worked with pen and paper.

"We now have a comprehensive, accurate database which is updated and maintained daily by our team, who undergo regular learning and development sessions."

Within the team were two employment advocates who dealt with a range of employment issues every day and had access to an immigration lawyer, she said.

"All our volunteers are passionate about serving the community, giving back and making sure nobody is exploited due to ignorance of their rights."

Hine, a former community services coordinator at Plunket, said volunteers had a "wealth of life experience", including many who had worked in health professions, teachers, police, accountants, consumer advocates and tax professionals.

"Tauranga CAB is here for the community and we are on the community's side. We offer a confidential, impartial, non-discriminatory free service," Hine said.

"Sometimes people who come to us are in a bit of a pickle and don't know where else to turn. We get a lot of migrants needing advice about their visa conditions or tax, including
a couple of people last week who complained about being bullied or exploited at work.

"All our services are peer-viewed to double-check we are giving people the correct information and the best advice possible."

Tauranga Citizens Advice Bureau's new headquarters. Photo / Supplied

Immigration and Justice of the Peace clinics resumed yesterday and free fortnightly legal clinics resume from October 27, Hine said.

The bureau was also visiting tertiary institutions to talk to international students and community drop-in clinics in other parts of the Western Bay of Plenty were in the works.

Tauranga CAB is funded by grants and donations including from Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Acorn Foundation, Internal Affairs, Lotto and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise, Hine said.

However, the move to new premises meant entering into a private lease agreement which added an extra cost to their operational expenses, she said.

Volunteer: We're here to help

Bubbly Janet Freeman is one of the longest-serving volunteers at the bureau, having joined the team in 2012, and served as chairwoman for three years until 2020.

In her former life, Freeman was a community occupational therapist at Tauranga Hospital and provided occupational support services to ACC before that.

"Volunteering at CAB is so rewarding as what we do is all about problem-solving, which is a passion of mine. We are here for everyone no matter how big or minor their problem is.

"Generally speaking, we're not here to tell people what to do but look up information to give our clients options to consider to hopefully resolve their issues."

Freeman said she got a buzz from helping people and recalled helping a woman a few years ago who had travelled to Tauranga from Christchurch to visit her brother as a surprise but found he wasn't home.

"I was able to help reunite the woman with her brother.

"We're an empowering friendly service and sometimes all people want is a listening ear and someone to talk to. All of us want to be useful to other people and the day I stop being useful is hopefully the day before I'm popped in a box."

CORRECTION
A previous version of this story incorrectly said 20,100 people had been given information and advice in the past two weeks. It was in the past two years.