Help at hand for quake hit groups

Helping south Christchurch's community organisations find new homes - and possibly establishing a base they can share - is a priority for the Spreydon-Heathcote Community Board this year.

Accommodation was an issue for many of these non-government organisations, including church agencies, because of rising rents and dislocation from their premises after the earthquakes, said board chairman Phil Clearwater.

Soaring rent increases in Addington in particular were affecting several organisations, he said.

"We want to look at ways to support all these agencies so they don't have to pay high rents," he said.

"One thing we will do is look at finding a central building for them where they can share resources perhaps, and also have enough scope for the community work that each of them does."

The board is supporting Manuka Cottage, the Addington community house, to make a funding application for new premises, and Mr Clearwater expects more calls for that sort of assistance. Manuka Cottage was a base for organisations including Addington Action, the Addington Timebank, and Addington Wellbeing, he said. Its present premises in Dickens St was an older property and more like a warehouse.

"It's not suitable for their purposes and they can't really stay there another winter. Somehow we need to obtain a local property for them."

The community organisations and community houses prevented social problems happening or getting more serious, he said.

Another priority for 2013 was for the board to work with the new earthquake recovery advocates, for which it lobbied strongly, and to assist people dislocated from their homes by the earthquake or on TC2 and TC3 land.

Assistance could be through street meetings, meetings in homes, or working with people one-on-one, said Mr Clearwater.

The board would also look at how it could obtain some affordable legal advocacy for them.