Support for Whangārei homeless centre at old Army Hall in Walton St amazes backers

Whangārei South Rotary Club members Steve Christmas, Gerard Skerten, John Shanks and Colin Wrack, with community development worker Carol Peters, building shelves at the city's homeless day shelter.

The amount of community support for Whangārei's homeless day shelter has blown away the backers of the project.

But they are also not surprised, saying many people want to solve the homelessness problem, but didn't know how to help.

Now they do with the homeless day shelter based at the old Army Hall in Walton St, Dr Carol Peters, community development worker with One Double Five Community House, says.

Whangārei woman Carrie Kake helps people who are homeless find somewhere to stay. She has been wanting to establish a day shelter for more than a year, and last month work started converting part of the old Army Hall into the day shelter for the city's roughly 100-plus homeless.

Peters said they had been overwhelmed by the number of people who have been helping convert the place or donated goods and other items.

''It's been a surprise but it hasn't really," Peters said.

''The shelter is coming together really well, but we knew that people really care about this issue, but many did not have anyway of helping. And people have been supporting us in so many ways, from coming along to help paint to providing equipment — we have had two full kitchens dropped off ready to install.

''People genuinely care, but they just didn't know what to do.''

Last week members of the Whangārei South Rotary Club and others turned up to help put up shelves and other work.

''That's typical, people just want to come along and help however they can. It's been amazing,'' Peters said.

Kake said everybody deserved another chance and some hope, and that was what the centre was all about. Peters said the shelter would open in the next few months and more help was always appreciated.

''We really need an electrician, a washing machine, carpet, lino and lino layers, a chiller and freezer. We're hoping a local business will sponsor us with some of that.

''This is all about hope, offering people hope and everybody deserves a dry place to come to.''

After the centre is open the next move will be to try to get a night shelter where homeless people could stay in the city.