He Kaupapa Kotahitanga Trust
‘To nurture, support and advocate for homeless women in Tauranga Moana’
Tihei Mauri Ora Tuhia ki te rangi, tuhia ki te whenua, tuhia ki te ngākau or ngā tangata katoa He Kaupapa Kotahitanga Trust would like to announce that we have opened a winter night shelter for homeless wahine women, which we have named ‘Hine Ngākau’. Setting up a temporary winter night shelter is our response to the multi-faceted issue of homelessness of women in Tauranga Moana. Hine Ngākau is for wahine woman and transgender woman only, who are living in chronic or rough situations which includes sleeping in a car, tent, street and couch surfing. We expect that there may be māmā with her pēpē/tamariki who will need shelter and we will do our best to accommodate them. Winter Operation dates of Hine Ngākau: - Sunday 9 May - Sunday 31 October Open days of operation are 5 nights a week: - Sunday to Thursday night. - *Hine Ngākau will not be open on Friday nights and Saturday nights. Contact Number: 07 205 5034 (we cannot publicly share the location of the address) Register & sign in between 5pm - 7:00pm - On arrival wahine will receive an information sheet that outlines the ngā ture, tikanga rules and guidelines of the whare - She will complete a registration form and she will need to sign a consent form. - There will be a quick but thorough hands-free bag check for the purpose of ensuring that no alcohol, drugs or weapons enter the premises. - Once documentation is completed, she will receive her bedding for the night and a clean bed, towel, shower. Hair products are provided for when she has her shower and sanitary items if she needs these. - A locker key in which to store her gear. - She will then be taken to her room and shown her bed. - The whare is warm on arrival. - As Hine Ngākau is a shelter, we do not offer fresh cooked meals, however, to manaaki wahine who may be hungry, we have frozen prepared meals for her to heat in the microwave. There is also hot drinks, toast and cereal for breakfast and other items of kai as it is available from external sources. - Free wifi - Hot shower - dining area to eat kai / kapu tī and korero. - Wahine will be informed that she will need to vacate the premises by 9am the next morning. - Staff will be on site at all times during her stay. There is a delegated smoking area: - All smoking must be completed by 10pm when the house will be completely locked.
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What wahine women will need to bring (if they have it): - WINZ ID (if applicable) or some other ID How many beds we have: - Hine Ngākau can accommodate 7 wahine at this time, some rooms are shared, some are single - Wahine can expect to share a room with one other wahine (if she wishes to stay and share a room) - Once the beds are full we will not be able to take on any more wahine on that particular night. Information: - While we will only offer shelter and some basic kai, our staff will offer information and redirect wahine to the appropriate support services where appropriate.
Our aim is to get wāhine out from the cold during the winter, where they can have a hot shower, have a bed for the night in a warm whare and have some kai before vacating the premises by 9am the next day. We only ever want to effect change in our community, our society by demonstrating compassion, kindness and equity. We know we are making a difference and with your support we can do more to transform lives.
He aha te mea nui o te ao, He tangata!
Kā nui taku aroha ki a koutou katoa He Kaupapa Kotahitanga Trust Board
Tania Lewis-Rickard (chair)
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