July 26, 2016
Te Puea winding up homeless outreach
Mangere’s Te Puea Marae is preparing to wind down its programme to house the homeless.
Chair Hurimoana Dennis says it will stop taking donations from tomorrow and close its doors to new people from Sunday.
It will continue working with the 14 whanau it has on site and make follow up visits to the 60 whanau it has placed in accommodation.
He told Radio Waatea host Willie Jackson 90 percent of the whanau helped were Maori, with families who had been sleeping in their cars joined by people fleeing domestic violence, rough sleepers and whanau who had been forced to stay in overcrowded accommodation.
"It was never good enough for whanau, mainly the 83 kids, to be in cars or carports or sleeping in places we wouldn't normally sleep during the winter, but we have learned some stuff we would be happy to share with anyone who is interested," Mr Dennis says.
Te Puea provided a model for how government and other agencies and marae can work together.
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