Belinda Munroe holds a picture of the gentleman she helped last month.
Belinda Munroe holds a picture of the gentleman she helped last month.
A Stratford woman is concerned people were left without access to their own money during the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
Belinda Munroe says not everyone has access to online banking or uses a cash card to get money out from bank machines, leaving them stuck when their local branches aren't open.
A man came into Thyme Out, the Stratford shop where she works as a volunteer, at the end of April seeking assistance, she says.
"He was stuck. He had no money left in his wallet and wasn't able to get any out from his bank. He banks with Kiwibank and the Stratford branch wasn't open at all. Because he had no cash card he had no way of getting his money out."
The man had run out of food, says Belinda, so she took him to the Salvation Army foodbank for some help.
"Pauline who owns Thyme Out also gave him some vegetable plants to help him in the future."
As well as helping him access some groceries, Belinda was able to gift him a small bit of financial help, too, thanks to the kindness of someone she knows.
"A gentleman had given me some cash a short while ago and asked me to give it to people in need if I came across them."
The Stratford branch of Kiwibank is inside the Paper Plus Stratford store and has not been able to open during alert levels 4 and 3.
Although some Kiwibank branches are open for a limited time each week to help customers who can't use phone or online banking, Belinda says more branches needed to be open.
"The nearest one was in New Plymouth and the man doesn't have a car. He would have had to cycle or hitchhike to get there. It seemed unfair, it's not that he didn't' have any money, its just that he couldn't access it. Ironically, his bank account was actually going up, because he couldn't get to the money to spend it."
Belinda says she is glad she was able to help him by getting him to the Salvation Army for some groceries but wants banks to remember some people need to come into a branch to draw money out. She says the man she helped was also keen for her to raise awareness of the issue, with him even posing for a photo outside the shop for her to share if she told his story.
"I think the banks need to make sure smaller towns like Stratford also have open branches as not everyone has a car to go further to get to a bank. There wasn't enough notice before the lockdown for people to be able to make sure they had enough cash out."
Taranaki Civil Defence and Emergency Management alternate group controller Sue Kelly says Taranaki has good support systems in place to ensure people get the help they need through this trying time.
"Whatever your situation, there will be someone that can help to find a solution," Sue says.
"If someone needs urgent help accessing household goods and supplies, or if they need other support but are not sure who to contact, they can call Civil Defence on 0800 900 077, 7 days a week 9am to 5pm."
The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website also has a list of contact numbers for a range of services and agencies available to help.
