Annual Review 2010 - 2011

Lasting Impressions

The Wellington City Mission has a 108 year history of identifying need in the most disadvantaged in our community, and then doing something positive about it.  This year's theme of 'Lasting Impressions', came about after feedback from service users, residents of Kemp, and Ezee Meal consumers. 

MISSION FOR FAMILIES - PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES WHO ARE AT A TURNING POINT IN THEIR LIVES.

The recession continued to affect families on our programme last year, both financially and emotionally, with cases becoming more complex as a result of the economic uncertainty. With 85% families on the programme having experienced family violence at some time, The Mission's collaborative approach to working relationships with other social service agencies really came to the fore.

Generally The Mission saw younger mothers across all our families, with a particular increase in the Hutt Valley. A greater range of ethnic diversity and language challenges also required more advocacy and support from our team of social workers to ensure families were understood and managed skillfully.

Issues of note this year:

225 families were supported by family social workers. 95 of these families were in Wellington,116 in Lower Hutt and 14 in Upper Hutt
1792 home visits and 2172 phone calls to families were made by social workers. An additional 934 advocacy contacts were made on behalf of families with a range of different agencies

MISSION FOR YOUTH - PROVIDING A COMPREHENSIVE ALTERNATIVE TO MAINSTREAM EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE DROPPED OUT OF OR BEEN EXCLUDED BY MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS.

New methods were introduced to help students realise the negative impact their actions have right across society, and redirect their creative skills in a positive manner. The Urban Arts programme utilised skilled facilitators from the local community to produce music, artwork and dance skills with our students, teaching social skills and gaining confidence whilst earning meaningful credits towards NCEA Level One.

Mission for Youth's partner programme, Transition to Work, also celebrated many successes. Many of our rangatahi left school at Year 9 or 10 with little or no NCEA credits and have no positive role models in their young lives. We offer a safe, positive and tolerant environment where NCEA Levels can be revisited, and last year had a placement rate into employment or tertiary training of 80% of course attendees.

Issues of Note this year:

27 students attended the programme with an average attendance rate of 66 % throughout the year.
32 rangatahi attended our Transition to Work programme, learning skills to aid them into employment or further education
131 workshop sessions were run internally by Transition to Work staff and 83 workshops were held by external providers
89 recreational sessions and 42 field trips and activities with Transition to Work participants were completed
44 post-programme contacts were made with previous participants of Transition to Work

MISSION FOR INDEPENDENCE - GUIDING PEOPLE WHO ARE FINANCIALLY DISADVANTAGED OR UNEMPLOYED TOWARDS SELF-RESPONSIBILITY, WITH COMPASSION.

There was a general trend down in regular food donations and an increased need by families for food parcel support.  Positively, by encouraging those on their own to eat a midday meal at our Drop-in Centre rather than take a food parcel and with the response from our regular food donors, we managed to continue to keep Foodbank shelves stocked and meet the increased demand.  This approach also introduced service users to our centre, with the added benefit of safe social interaction.

Service users who had been on the Mission for Independence programme some years previously, came back to us due to rising costs and lack of employment options. Guidance from our social worker and interconnecting Budget Advice service ensured only a short stay, and new direction.  Remarkably, volunteer hours alone in both our Foodbank and Drop-in Centre totalled nearly 4,500, proving yet again the dedication and resilience of The Mission's volunteer network.

Issues of Note this year:

An average of 56 clients attended the Drop-in Centre on average each day with a total 15,992 meals being served throughout the year
Volunteers contributed 2,736 hours of their time to the Drop-in Centre. Helpers included a number of current or former clients who became involved with the operation of our facility
Our in-house social worker spent 406 individual sessions with clients and made 203 calls or visits to a variety of agencies on their behalf
3,910 food parcels were distributed to families and individuals in need
296 clients received money management or budget advice assistance
1,856 coaching/advisory sessions were made with budget clients and 287 contacts were made on behalf of clients with creditors
12,980 financial transactions were made on behalf of service users through The Mission's trust account

MISSION FOR SENIORS - ENCOURAGING POSITIVE CHANGE FOR THE OLDER PERSON.

Multiple issues including health, disability and social needs saw more complexity within the programme. The trend for elderly to stay in their own homes longer rather than enter residential facilities continues. Currently 64% of Mission for Seniors service users receive the WINZ Disability Allowance in order to maintain a reasonable quality of life.  Mission staff also assisted and advocated on behalf of seniors to ensure access to other WINZ support entitlements.  We also saw an increase in service users between the ages of 65 to 70, and ended the year with 10% on the programme over the age of 90.

Across the board, those on the programme reported that the increasing cost of living was causing anxiety with poor health as an outcome. Often lack of money meant hearing aids, glasses and teeth were neglected, and staff worked hard to work with other agencies to ensure basic needs were met. Hard work and team determination ensured we continued to support the elderly to live full lives with dignity, within their own home environment.

Issues of Note this year:

473 elderly were regularly supported by nurses, social workers and an occupational therapist in their own homes. 124 of the elderly staff worked with resided in Wellington, 77 in Northern Wellington, 56 in Porirua,140 in Lower Hutt and 76 in Upper Hutt
3,078 face-to-face meetings were made with clients, including 2,249 home visits, along with 3,329 telephone calls. Staff made 587 visits and 3,502 telephone calls to external agencies, families or other parties on behalf of clients

KEMP HOME & HOSPITAL - PROVIDING HOSPITAL AND REST HOME CARE WHEN IT’S NEEDED.

 

Kemp Home & Hospital continued to deliver services with care and compassion within a home-like environment for both permanent and respite clients. With seniors staying in the community longer, the number of clients entering Kemp straight to hospital level care grew considerably. This meant a need to increase the number of registered nurses to suitably meet the complex needs of our increased hospital level clients. Kemp also experienced a higher number of younger people (under 65 years) with complex needs requiring residential care.

There was an increase in the number of palliative care clients who required dedicated medical, social, spiritual support and specialist resources. In order to meet this need, Kemp adopted the Liverpool Care Pathway, supported by Mary Potter Hospice. As well as first-class nursing care, clients and family members appreciate the faith-based element of their stay at Kemp. Regular services are held in the Kemp chapel and pastoral care is offered to clients. Special remembrance services were held, including the Christchurch Earthquake commemorative service, which brought together clients, staff and community.

Recreational programmes were strengthened to meet the social needs of younger clients and cultural needs of our Maori and Pacific Island clients. The local community also participated in the clients lives with visits from local schools and community groups.

EZEE MEALS - TRADITIONAL FOOD WITH HOME-MADE GOODNESS.

Ezee Meals are tasty and nutritious heat and eat convenience meals, purchased or delivered in frozen form. There are 52 Ezee Meal outlets from Kaitaia to Christchurch. Over the past year, new outlets opened in Waitara, Manaia and Havelock North.

167,969 Ezee Meals were sold in 2010-11:

• 18,755 desserts
• 35,696 light meals
• 113,518 main meals

Each meal sold provides a small contribution towards the social services provided by the local outlet. Regional distributors also report that by supplying the meals, this also provides an opportunity to maintain social connections, particularly with the elderly.

If you would like a printed copy of our 2010 - 2011 Annual Review, please contact Leanne Thompson on leanne@wgtncitymission.org.nz  or telephone 04 477 5984. 

If you would like to download a copy of our 2010 - 2011 Annual Review, please click here ... Lasting Impressions

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