"If you are hungry she will scrummage through her own cupboards to make you up a little food parcel, if you have nothing she will make sure you leave with everything you need."
Ms Sunnex is one of the people involved in setting up the Koha Shed in Wanganui, an organisation that provides second-hand items free to anyone that needs them. Literally run out of a shed, people drop off anything they don't need anymore, including clothes, furniture, and kitchenware, and members of the public can show up and take as much as they want for free, with no judgment.
But before the Koha Shed, Ms Sunnex spent her earlier years running a boarding house for the homeless, working with youth, and trying to keep other struggling people on their feet.
"It's simply because I've been in that position. I had a good home but I had my own problems. I grew up in the system as a state ward so I know what it's like to have challenges in my life."
Ms Sunnex, who was homeless herself for periods of time during her years battling addiction, has experienced it all. She had five children with a Mongrel Mob member and was sent to jail after the gang members she was with assaulted a police officer, and she confessed to the crime. "I thought I'd be a big, brave girl and say that I'd done it. I didn't think I'd go to jail. Instead I got jail and a patch on my back."
Ms Sunnex has also been jailed before for unpaid fines.
After her spiritual experience, Ms Sunnex began living her life as a Christian. "I believe that if you live your life according to biblical principles then you'll have a very good life," she said.
She ran the 40-room boarding house in Auckland for homeless which was "full to the brim", and was able to provide disadvantaged youth with a small income to help out with other homeless people she was assisting. She spent some time volunteering with the City Mission, and is now fostering three children, the youngest of which is 8 years old.
Ms Sunnex began fostering each of the children when they were babies. "I was already bringing up a granddaughter, I didn't think one more was going to make a difference," she said.
Then "one more" became three, which Ms Sunnex said has been a "rewarding and also very challenging" experience. Two of the children have foetal alcohol syndrome.
Ms Sunnex is currently devoting all her time to running the Koha Shed, which she said is still going strong, but which is in great need of blankets for winter.
"It makes me feel very wealthy to be able to give constantly, I get a lot of joy out of it," she said.
"I'm very grateful for this nomination, but I'm also extremely grateful to all the people that put all the hard yards into Koha sheds all over the country. We all need to be standing together."
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Nominations for the 2015 awards have now closed.
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