Tauranga nightshelter praised as one of the best

Roger McKay speaking at the opening, flanked by, from left, trustees Mike Mills and Constable Matt Elliot, trust patron Mayor Stuart Crosby and nightshelter manager Annamarie Angus.PHOTO/RUTH KEBER

A new era in Tauranga's care of the homeless was celebrated yesterday at the opening of a nightshelter praised as being one of the best in New Zealand.

Many of the men sleeping rough around the city will have a place to rest their heads at night thanks to the efforts of Tauranga Safe City co-ordinator Mike Mills and other members of the Tauranga Moana Nightshelter Trust.

The opening was led by trust chairman and Tauranga Community Constable Matt Elliot who said that a fundamental human right was the right of shelter.

His speech to a big crowd representing organisations involved in the project highlighted how homelessness was a community issue that had existed in Tauranga for decades.

Five years of planning had gone into establishing the nightshelter and finding the right site in the former youth hostel off Elizabeth St.

Mr Elliot singled out the "tenacious" approach of his predecessor Constable Aaron Fraser and Mr Mills whom he described as the driving force behind the project.

"We would not be here today if not for Mike."

Trust patron and Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby also praised Mr Fraser whose vision for the nightshelter included wrap-around services to try and break the cycle of homelessness.

"It is a great day, a tremendous day."

He recalled how an article in the Bay of Plenty Times about the search for a site on the perimeter of the CBD had been spotted by the New Zealand Youth Hostel Association's chief executive who contacted him saying: "We have a facility that might suit."

Mr Crosby said afterwards that the number of homeless in Tauranga varied from 40 to 60, depending on the time of year.

A spokesman for the homeless and trustee Andrew Rudduck told the Bay of Plenty Times that the nightshelter was one of the best he had seen.

Ngaitamarawaho kaumatua Peri Kohu blessed the nightshelter and the Reverend Simon McLeay led the prayers.

Tauranga's New Nightshelter

• Beds for up to 20 homeless men
• Kitchen to do their own cooking
• Facility closed and secured from 10pm to 8am
• Inappropriate behaviour and loitering in the area not tolerated