Karrie Brown is enjoying her first week of leisure after retiring from her role as Whanganui City Mission manager. Photo / Bevan Conley
If Karrie Brown had worked for a commercial enterprise for the past seven years, she would likely receive a hefty retirement package.
But in her role as Whanganui City Mission manager, the growth she has seen has been an increase in need rather than profit.
Brown has led the charity through the most challenging times in its 30 years of operation.
The Covid pandemic and cost of living crisis have seen the demand grow from enough food for 3500 people a year in 2016 to more than 8000 in 2022 and the demand has necessitated increases in both paid and voluntary staffing numbers.
When Brown started working for the charity in 2016, she did not expect to stay there long or to become the manager.
“I was initially employed on a 12-week contract to train the administration worker,” Brown said.
“Accountant Stephen Lace had recommended me for the position and I didn’t anticipate that I’d be there longer but while I was there the manager resigned and recommended me for the position.”
Brown had experienced redundancy from her previous position in administration and payroll with Ag Challenge a year earlier and had completed a diploma in business management at UCOL Whanganui while searching for work.
“Although I had experience and qualifications, I didn’t see myself in a management role with a Christian charity,” Brown said.
“I’m a believer but managing a church-run organisation was something outside my realm of understanding.”
By the time the first Covid-19 lockdown came along in March 2020, Brown felt that she was inhabiting the role she was made for. It would bolster her for the journey into the unknown that lay ahead.
“Things were happening so fast and I didn’t know if I was expected to isolate at home for six weeks or if the food bank was deemed to be an essential service or not.
“I confirmed with MSD that we were an essential service and then we had to contend with how we could manage the service during the lockdown.”
The foodbank service had 12 volunteers at the time and Brown said most were deemed to be in the higher-risk category and were required to isolate at home.
“We were having to buy more supplies because our regular donors were restricted in what they could purchase for us. The demand for essential items was so great that supermarkets were having to limit the number sold to each customer.
“People still wanted to help so we asked them to make donations to our bank account and the response was overwhelming.”
Brown said the generosity of the Whanganui people had never ceased to blow her away.
“When the winter energy payments were introduced we had pensioners who donated the equivalent amount in groceries to the foodbank because they didn’t need it, they said.”
She said the uncertainty around what would happen in the early stages of the pandemic meant that staff and volunteers had to be very adaptable and she had to do a lot of thinking on her feet.
“I would go home at the end of each day and catch up with the latest Government advice.
“At that stage, we decided that we would carry on until one of us caught Covid and then we would have to close and do a deep cleanse.”
They adapted to the changes and growing demand that saw an increase in clients who had never previously accessed a foodbank and there were people experiencing other challenges in their lives such as homelessness and medical problems unrelated to Covid.
“One of the challenges for me has been keeping clear boundaries with clients because I’m a sharer by nature and the struggles I saw some people experiencing made me want to go above and beyond.
“I did go the extra mile for a woman who was having trouble finding housing and I could see that she was making every effort to improve her situation on her own so I gave her extra support after hours. That bit of extra help enabled her to get to a better place on her own like I knew she would.”
Brown said helping people see a pathway out of their problems was an important and satisfying aspect of her role.
“A debt of $2000 can seem insurmountable to someone struggling with their day-to-day expenses but when you sit down and work out how they can pay it off in manageable amounts, they are so relieved.
“We would negotiate with creditors to make repayment schedules more manageable for our clients. It was rare for them to refuse.”
The second Covid lockdown in August 2021 brought new challenges for the City Mission.
A state of emergency was not declared as it was in 2020 so local efforts were co-ordinated by MSD rather than Civil Defence. The City Mission was the designated centre for food distribution, which was carried out by non-contact deliverers.
When the Covid-19 Omicron variant cases were detected in New Zealand in late 2021 new precautions were needed and the City Mission staff and volunteers were divided into two teams so that if a member of one team caught the virus the other group could take over.
“It was hard because our administrator Sylvia Kennard was on one team and I was on the other. We still needed to complete all the paperwork including funding applications but the food parcel distribution had to come first so it wasn’t easy.”
One casualty of the extra pressure on the charity has been the Christmas lunch hosted by the City Mission for more than 30 years.
It was last held at the Eulogy Lounge at the Whanganui Racecourse in 2020.
“It was hard to disappoint people who wanted to attend over the past two years,” said Brown.
“In 2021 we couldn’t hold it because of the traffic light restrictions and last year our board made the decision that they would like to look after their employees and give us a break at Christmas.”
Brown said there was an opportunity for other agencies and churches to work together to reschedule a community Christmas lunch and she hoped that would happen.
Now though, it is time for her to hit the trail – she has bought a mountain e-bike and she’s ready to use it.
“My mother is in Rotorua and I plan to see more of her and I will be boarding with friends in Tauranga as well as taking on some house and pet-sitting roles.
“I plan to live a low-cost, low-maintenance life where I will be free to travel around because I still have family in Whanganui and the South Island.”
Letting go of the responsibilities of her role had felt good during the first week, she said, although she will miss clients and colleagues.
One of her retirement gifts is a Little Golden Book parody offering humorous life advice for adults.
“There are some good tips,” said Brown.
“Reminders about giving thanks and enjoying life, so that’s what I’ll be doing.”