We're going to turn a former police station into Whangārei’s very own version of a city mission - and we need help!

Our new premise on 93 Cameron Street will allow us to centralise our support services into one hub for the community. 

“Much like Auckland and Wellington’s city missions, this will be a community hub for Whangārei whānau to rest, connect, enjoy a cuppa and kai where they can access all of our services,” says Whare Āwhina CEO Liz Cassidy-Canning. 

However there is a lot of work ahead to transform the premise into the vibrant hub we envision. 

We're calling on our wider community and supporters to help us raise the estimated $450,000 required to do so. 

“We have plans to create a community lounge where whānau can rest, reset and talk with our kaiarahi (support workers) about their housing and support needs, and our community law team will be based on-site too. 

“Breakfast and lunch will be served six days a week, and there will be shower facilities but we can’t make it happen alone. We depend greatly on our community of supporters.”

Cassidy-Canning says while some team members and kaiārahi are already working from the new location, our Open Arms hub remains open as the primary location for the community to drop in and access their support services. 

Our fundraising page is now live. Help us turn our vision into reality. Donate today.