Tommy Wilson said an arragement to house the homeless at the Taruanga RSA is working well. Photo / File
Tommy Wilson said an arragement to house the homeless at the Taruanga RSA is working well. Photo / File
Tauranga's homeless have found a roof over their heads at an unlikely spot and the success of the scheme will see it extended. Journalist Kelly Makiha finds out how locals will be impacted.
The homeless can continue to stay at Tauranga's RSA but the good news for punters is the bar is now open again.
Tauranga RSA has just signed another lease agreement with Tauranga's Te Tuinga Whānau Support Services Trust which will see its 24 rooms onsite rented to those who have nowhere else to go.
It's been a win-win for both parties and as of this week the RSA's bar will open again to customers.
They say the security provided by the trust ensures there are no undesirables around the bar area and patrons can feel comfortable and safe about returning to their favourite watering hole.
Trust executive director Tommy Wilson said when lockdown hit, they needed to find beds fast and the RSA on Cameron Rd came to the rescue.
Since then, they had repeated the RSA model and filled another vacant motel, the Summit Motor Lodge, and they were working on securing another motel as well.
The newly-signed three-month lease at the RSA had come just at the right time.
"It will get us through winter."
Wilson said they had an in-house doctor two days a week - a leader in drug and alcohol addiction services - who worked with the homeless people to assess their needs and there were onsite social workers who were helping them through any issues.
"We have set up somewhat of a grading system. We get them into the RSA, they then get themselves sorted out and go to the Summit Motor Lodge and from there we send them out to one of our 30 houses and by then they have a good chance of enjoying a life like you and I."
He said while there were some homeless who were back on the street, most were now being looked after.
"You will always get families and individuals who will hop from one service to the next and they are not ready to meet their problems. We can only help those who really want to help themselves and we put them through our filter and that's where we get success."
Tauranga's Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services Trust executive director Tommy Wilson. Photo / File
Tauranga RSA president Fred Milligan said the RSA's restaurant had been open since last week and this week the bar would reopen every day except on Sunday and Monday. He said the hours at this stage would be from 2pm until 8pm.
"We have got no idea how it is going to work. We can only assume people will be interested and will come back because we've had a few calls from people asking."
