Tūrangi's popular SafeTea HQ plans to extend its opening hours this year and invite more community safety organisations to take part.
The expansion has been made possible by a $20,000 grant from BayTrust.
Safe Tūrangi chairman Tangonui Kingi says he's ecstatic BayTrust will contribute to their operating costs for 2022.
"It will give us options and allow us to scale up our activity. We will look to increase our part-time co-ordinator's hours so that we can do more. It'll also help us deploy more resources to support other community groups to grow.
"We're just over the moon about the grant because it verifies the trust and confidence that BayTrust has in our ability to deliver."
Tangonui Kingi (left), Ngāti Tuwharetoa paramount chief Sir Tumu te Heuheu and Senior Sergeant Te Reipa Morunga (at the Tūrangi Volunteer Recruitment Expo. Photo / Supplied
SafeTea HQ opened in Tūrangi's town centre in February 2021 and acts as a hub for community safety messages and campaigns. The informal "tearoom" setting provides a relaxed space for people to drop in and chat with police, fire, neighbourhood support and other groups.
It's also used by Coastguard and Blue Light for regular meetings and public workshops, with discussions now underway with other organisations such as Civil Defence and St John who want to get involved in 2022.
"We knew the concept was going to work because sometimes people are hesitant about going into a police or fire station. SafeTea HQ provides an inviting open space with no institutional barriers that allows people to engage. It's a modern take on some of the activities that Citizens Advice Bureau used to fulfil but with the service agencies being present."
Safe Tūrangi will look to activate the space even more by inviting new partners in now they've had a full year to analyse its use, and BayTrust's grant has been approved.
"There's been an incredible amount of interest from a lot of agencies operating in town because they can see our kaupapa and what we are trying to do."
In addition to SafeTea HQ and other initiatives like volunteer expos and Christmas events, Safe Tūrangi partners with small grassroots groups in Tūrangi such as Community Patrols and Tūrangi Social Connection to provide essential support. BayTrust's grant will allow more of this work to take place.
"We're very focused on how to support small community groups that are part of the fabric of Tūrangi but often sit just below the radar.
"They're not big enough, or they don't have enough committee members to form a formal constitution and be able to register with the Charities Commission. But the work they do makes our community all the richer. So we just have to figure out ways to say, 'what can we do to help you?' If it's putting in some admin support, preparation of financials, drafting up charitable constitutions - you name it, we will figure it out."
BayTrust CEO Alastair Rhodes says the $20,000 Community Impact grant is in recognition of the tremendous work Safe Tūrangi is doing in the region.
"We admire their vision to ensure Tūrangi is a proud community where everyone feels safe and connected. The number of initiatives they're involved in is impressive and this grant will allow them to increase the level of support they offer directly to locals and to other Tūrangi groups."
