Limitless hope: Search steps up for shelter location

Kirstyn Renall, The Sugar Queen Cakery owner, with cupcakes that raised $500 for the Swannell family's Limitless Hope campaign. Photo / Duncan Brown

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton is on the hunt for land to set up Hawke's Bay's first emergency shelter.

It is no easy task finding a suitable site for the two-storey former Property Brokers office, donated to Kiri and Kevin Swannell as a safe haven for those in dire need of a bed for the night.

Their quest was quickly picked up by Hawke's Bay Today, which launched the Limitless Hope Emergency Shelter Appeal to raise money and meet the practical requirements needed to make it all happen.

When the Hastings District Council could not find a spot in time to meet the pressing removal deadlines, they agreed to assist in other ways and leave the job to their Napier City counterparts.

"We haven't got any land, so I have left it with Bill Dalton; we are happy to do anything else to help out," Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said. "I have already given some advice about building requirement stuff, but they need to get a piece of land and there seems to be a big push to get that."

Pressure is on after a meeting with the Swannells this week and Mr Dalton was keen to get the ball rolling, though there were hurdles along the way.

Just yesterday he thought they might have something, only to discover it was not an option.

"Property Brokers have been incredibly generous but they need to get the house moved. I have got people running all over the place. We are trying to do what we can from our end, we want to be a part of it," Mr Dalton said.

The Swannells were doing their own work - keeping options open, pursuing different avenues and opportunities to find the right fit for their project. "We still can't say anything right now but we do hope to have some more news on land in the next couple of days," Ms Swannell said. The challenge still stands to raise an estimated $100,000 to have the building removed from its current site on St Aubyn St.

A Givealittle fund hit $35,000 in pledges, though the target would need to be reached by the end of this month or that money will get returned to donors.

"We really need to get as much into that Givealittle as possible," Ms Swannell said.

Cupcakes never had a sweeter message than those baked by The Sugar Queen Cakery and sold in support of the Limitless Hope appeal yesterday.

Owner Kirstyn Renall churned out more than 200 of the treats, raising $500 entirely for the cause.

"I have been wanting to do something with them for a long time. I have been watching what they do and I thought this was the perfect opportunity," Ms Renall said.

"There are plenty of people that are way less fortunate than we are. I'm also looking to take regular baking down on a Monday every week."

She hoped to do a bigger batch on Thursday next week and raise more like $1000.

There was still plenty of support rolling in from elsewhere. Mike Lawson came to the party with insurance, Ben Smith offered earthworks assistance and Carpet King have offered their services.

If all goes well and targets are met, the region's first permanent emergency shelter for people in desperate situations could be operating by the end of the year or early next year.