Strengthening Communities One Person at a Time

At the beginning of 2020, I was asked to take over management of the Ashburton Anglican Advocacy. This one–on–one support service was started by Annie Bately in 2019 and was based on the successful model that had been operating in Timaru for many years.

Two and a half years later, my passion for the people we help and my passion for the service we provide has only grown. What makes the work enjoyable for me is the guiding concept we employ which is to be non-judgemental in all our interactions with our clients and the opportunity to do social justice in my community.

“The test of a civilisation is in the way it cares for its helpless members” is a quote by Pearl S. Buck, a Nobel Prize laureate. Often mistakenly attributed to Mahatma Ghandi this quote describes for me what Anglican Care stands for. It is by helping and strengthening the weakest in our communities we can strengthen the whole community.

Ashburton is a normal larger town in Canterbury. The district, which spans the area between the Rakaia and Rangitata Rivers has a population of approximately 36,000. Yet Ashburton Anglican Advocacy witnesses all the problems and issues we would see in the big cities. Housing is in short supply and social housing is almost inaccessible. Sections of our community are forced to live in poverty. Literacy and/or mental health issues often affect people’s ability to function. There are elements that use and deal drugs, and crime appears and disappears randomly. “It is by helping and strengthening the weakest in our communities we can strengthen the whole community.” Warren James

However, resources to combat these issues are limited in smaller communities and are often administered and delivered from our bigger neighbours. In this context, the one–on–one advocacy services Anglican Care South Canterbury provide, in Timaru and Ashburton, is unique and needed. We are encouraged to provide local delivery, by local people.

Staffed mostly by volunteers Anglican Advocacy advocates mentor people experiencing adverse events. Anglican Advocacy currently has six active volunteer advocates in Ashburton, and we will assist over 150 people in the 2022 year. First, we support by being there for our clients and listening to them, then, we support by helping them to be heard. My hope is, when they leave us they walk away with their head held a little bit higher than when we began and they are carrying some tools and knowledge that will strengthen them the next time they encounter adversity. I consider myself a very lucky man because I love my work. We as advocates cannot solve everybody’s problem and we cannot win every battle—but, if we can strengthen some of the people we help, we also strengthen our community and we can be thankful for that.

Need advocacy help in Ashburton or mid-Canterbury?

Call Warren James c: 027 220 0400 e: advocacyashburton@ anglicancare.org.nz w: www.anglicancare.org.nz F: www.facebook.com/ midcanterburyanglicanadvocacy

Warren talking to the local Brithright volunteers about how Anglican Advocacy manages clients and what we can do for people. Birthright and Anglican Advocacy often cross refer clients and share similar stories. Credit: supplied