Struggling families come to the Sallies for a range of help

Salvation Army Whangarei's director of community ministries, Lieutenant Peter Koia, and Gay Matoe from the foodbank are helping out as many struggling families as they can. Photo / Michael Cunningham

An increasing number of families from Auckland struggling with housing needs are turning up to the Salvation Army in Whangarei asking for help.

The situation is putting more pressure on the organisation's foodbank as the demands of winter, especially high power bills and illnesses, are leaving struggling families with less cash for essential household items.

The Salvation Army's winter appeal is under way and Kiwis are being asked to help those struggling with the basics of food, warmth, and shelter during this cold-weather season.

Salvation Army Whangarei's director of community ministries, Lieutenant Peter Koia, said his foodbank staff were seeing 17 families daily and they varied between those with a single child to a family of up to nine people.

"We're seeing a lot of first-timers and I'd say a third of those we're seeing daily have come up from Auckland to live in Whangarei but they are still struggling.

"It's the first time we've seen this trend of people moving up from Auckland and coming to us. We're using wrap-around services such as budgeting to ensure they have some money left at the end of the day," he said.

"Housing crises happens in every community. Even in Whangarei as rents go up, people move further out and access to essential services becomes difficult but we'll help as much as they allow us to."

The families from Auckland were trying to escape the housing crisis there, rather than ex-Northlanders returning from the country's largest city.

Mr Koia said that by providing food parcels the Salvation Army tried to offset costs such as rent and power bills but said the measure was meant to be temporary.

From July to September last year, the Salvation Army saw 1392 people a month throughout the country seeking help for the first time or the first time in a long time.

Mr Koia said the organisation's Whangarei office saw 43 new families a month and 662 between those months last year.

He said his staff made sure people accessed services such as budgeting advice and Work and Income support before coming to the Salvation Army otherwise their situation would be more dire.

Food parcels, he said, were also dropped off at the homes of people around Whangarei who could not get to the Salvation Army for a number of genuine reasons.

A pot of soup is taken to two schools one day a week to help with lunch and a new house initiative has just started on a cost-sharing basis between the Salvation Army and the Ministry of Social Development.

Struggling families are put in emergency housing identified by the Salvation Army for 12 weeks.

To help New Zealanders shelter this winter you can donate online at salvationarmy.org.nz/winterappeal or by phoning 0800 53 00 00.