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When life doesn’t quite go according to plan, Homebuilders Family Services in Hexham Street, Warkworth is telling people their door is always open to listen, support and assist where they can.
Over the 2022/23 year, the service expects to work alongside about 450 families and individuals in the district, through its family support service, courses, youth counselling and one-to-one children’s programme.
A further 800 to 1000 people will access their Helpdesk service, seeking information and support with issues such as dealing with Work and Income and the IRD, being homeless, needing food, tenancy issues and so on.
Coordinator Quentin Jukes says people seek assistance from Homebuilders Family Services for many reasons, but some of the main concerns are around parenting and relationships, financial worries and mental wellbeing.
Around half of the people they work alongside are seen in their own homes.
Funding is a constant pressure for the organisation. About half its income is through Government department contracts, with the remaining income coming from donations from individuals, local businesses and Op Shops, and philanthropic trusts.
“It is clear from the feedback we get from families that our assistance makes a real difference,” Jukes says. “When we finish working with a family, we ask them to fill in a short form, evaluating the assistance they received.
“Last year, on average, families rated their situation as 8.9 out of 10 for difficulty at the outset (where 10 is very difficult and one is not difficult) and then 3.5 out of 10 when they had finished working with us.”
Over the past 18 months, Homebuilders has taken on four new counsellors – Jazz Bishop, Penelope Arthur, Colleen Julian and Gareth Pring – to help meet demand.
Penelope says that what drew her to Homebuilders was the idea that she could help people before issues escalated.
“I have a mental health background and have tended to work in fields where we always felt like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff,” she says. “Homebuilders provides an opportunity to work with people in a more positive and optimistic way. I also like working in my own community.”
Jazz grew up on the Hibiscus Coast and, as one of the younger members of the team, has a natural interest in working with youth.
“There’s a lot of diversity in the issues we deal with which keeps the work challenging. I enjoy that,” she says.
Colleen Julian is well-known in the Warkworth area for her work, over 18 years, with the Women’s Centre Rodney. She says the shift to Homebuilders has given her the opportunity to work face-to-face with the community again.
“My previous role had a heavy emphasis on administration. Whereas now I am totally people-focused and working in a range of areas from relationships and parenting to advocacy and financial counselling. I am also working with migrant communities.”
The fourth new recruit is former police officer and teacher Gareth Pring. He was working at Horizon School last year and has been involved with music therapy classes at Springboard. He says he is keen to develop the music therapy classes through Homebuilders.
Homebuilders has a number of free courses planned, and in the pipeline, starting with a Cooking on a Budget class on May 31. It will cover how to cook nutritious and affordable meals and will be followed by a second workshop on June 1, which will cover how to make natural cleaning products. Both classes will run from 9.30am to midday.
Penelope would like to hear from anyone interested in being involved in a get-together for people from the LGBTQI+ community, particularly young people.
“I’d like to provide a safe space for members of the local rainbow community to talk about their issues.” Penelope can be contacted on 021 068 1109.
As well as running music therapy sessions, Gareth would like to regularly offer a discussion group for parents who may be struggling with their teenagers’ behaviour, often amplified by an addiction to digital devices. He says today’s parents are the first to have to deal with the financially strong and clever tech giants who are competing for their children’s attention, and it is not easy. Gareth can be contacted on 022 621 1496.
Teen anxiety will be the subject of a group session being organised by Jazz. She says the focus will be on sharing experiences and learning practical tools to deal with anxiety. “It will be about looking at the barriers these teens feel, which may be preventing them from participating fully in school and socially.”
Homebuilders will also offer an hour-long talk on the Accommodation Supplement available from Work and Income on June 6 and a five-part Mindfulness course starting on June 2.
Quentin says Homebuilders welcomes enquiries, by phone or email.
“If we can’t help, we will probably know who can.”
Homebuilders can be contacted at www.homebuildersfs.org. Alternatively, call 0800 100 037 or 09 425 7048.
