Pastor pauses Christmas meals, encourages community aid in Hastings

• Warren Heke, founder of Kuhu Mai, will close its meal services from December 20 to January 13.
• Heke believes shutting down over Christmas helps manage volunteer fatigue and encourages others to contribute.
• He emphasises winter as the toughest time for the homeless, with summer being slightly easier.

Despite many services for unhoused people in Hawke’s Bay shutting down over Christmas, one Hastings pastor believes shutting down helps his charity run during the toughest times of the year.

Pastor Warren Heke, founder of Kuhu Mai - a wraparound service for the homeless based in Hastings, has closed its twice-daily meal services at Hastings Church from December 20 to January 13.

Heke has been serving meals to Hastings' homeless population for 10 years. In previous years, he noticed that working over Christmas took a toll on his volunteers.

“[Churches] normally put on a Christmas lunch and hand out gifts,” Heke said.

“So we realised we do that all year, we’ll let them do that over Christmas.”

At the Kuhu Mai Integrated Community Hub, Heke has a list of places providing lunches or Christmas events for anyone without somewhere to go over the festive period.

“Our logic was around that idea that we would encourage others to do their bit and they generally do it around Christmas, so we take a break,” he said.

“From our perspective, we’ve consistently found there comes a point where it’s pretty overloaded for our staff and there isn’t really a good time to take a break that doesn’t have an impact.

“We’ve found that winter has a more serious impact on the homeless than Christmas.”

Heke said there were “definitely gaps that could be filled” during this time.

However, many services will run during the holiday period, such as overnight shelter He Kākano and WITT’s The Lighthouse, along with mental health and public services.

Heke said winter was the toughest time for homeless in Hawke’s Bay and the summer weather made life a little easier for those doing it tough.

“Interestingly enough, some of those who are homeless or don’t have anywhere to live will migrate to sort of a summer holiday spot,” he said.

“They might move closer to Napier, they might move close out to Haumoana or Ocean Beach or they’ll actually stay because it’s easier to stay outside in some of these places.”

During Christmas, Heke encouraged everyone to take “whatever opportunity they have to affect their neighbours or people around them positively”.

“Often when you’re on holiday you’ve got time and space to consider other people,” he said.

“If you’re on holiday somewhere and you see people that are struggling, it’s always an opportunity to maybe make a small difference in their lives.

“I think that’s part of what we encourage at Christmas time, the giving of gifts and connecting with people and I think if we just add maybe one more way of doing that ... to just notice people who might be disconnected or on their own.”

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region, along with pieces on art, music, and culture.