From Fr Des Britten

Fr Des Britten

Wellington City Missioner

It is no secret that the telling time for the Wellington City Mission each year coincides with the onset of winter.

This year, the chilly winds seem to have come earlier than usual. I am happy to report that this has not resulted in queues for help lining up outside the Mission though we are noticing a small increase in requests for casual support.

If I needed to identify one thing that happens every year at this time, it is the certainty that power bills increase markedly and this can be a very stressful event for some people.  What normally follows from turning the heater off to save money is a cold uncomfortable house and a family more prone to catching colds and the flu.  Not good, also, with the threat of Swine Flu around.

Most of our people are coping bravely with the help of our programmes to get them through, despite the difficulties of the current economic climate.  While we cannot change the world, we are delivering services to more people in the Wellington, Porirua and Hutt areas than we have ever done. It is the support of our wider community and their donations that help make it happen.

Our trained staff, Drop-in Centre, emergency food supplies, budget advice, re-employment assistance and personal advocacy help those who are out of work, or who are struggling to make ends meet, get back on their feet and achieve a better quality of life.

It is at this time of year that our Mission for Independence programme shines through.  This programme proves its worth over and over again.

Often the path leading to this programme begins with a casual request for a food parcel when an unpleasant or unexpected bill has put stress on a household.  If there is a second request, we try to find out what is behind the problem so we can help using a range of options from our Mission for Independence programme.

Our Drop-in Centre, as you would expect, is very popular at this time of year and we continue to serve more than 60 meals each day.  The Brown Paper Bag Appeal has arrived at a most convenient time as our food parcel stocks are running low. We share our supplies with a wide range of foodbanks in Wellington which highlights how loyal our supporters are and how sensitive Wellingtonians are about the welfare of their community.

Your support during the cold months means that simple things like an overlooked power bill can be paid in order to keep a young family warm, or that there is food on the table and a sandwich in a schoolbag for a single mum and her children, or the spiralling debt of an out-of-work beneficiary is brought under control.

With your help we are turning lives around and there are many more lives that need the support of the Mission.  Our supporters have been extremely generous to us in the past and like us, your compassion is driven by the belief that people deserve better lives and positive outcome for their families.

Your pride in our work and your generosity is humbling to all of us at the Mission.  Please support us again through these tough winter months so we can help our people look forward to the spring sunshine. 

Greater Wellington, we love you.

PS – Keep spreading the good word.  Just the other Friday, we were locking the door of the Drop-in Centre to go home for the week and 300 fresh muffins arrived, left over from a big function. Every day I shake my head in disbelief at how people think of us and make a contribution.

Thank you and God bless you all.

FR Des Britten