The Soup Kitchen is often the first point of entry to services for those on the margins. There are few barriers to accessing the meal service at the Soup Kitchen, so it’s a good place to connect with people.
It’s important that we provide more than food. Our mission is to: ‘support people in need to live with dignity in the community’ – and part of this is about helping people move forward in their lives.
We see access to healthy and affordable food as a basic human right, as is access to appropriate housing and healthcare. We have an experienced and skilled staff member on-site who is dedicated to providing outreach services for guests. We actively assist people to access specialist housing, health and budgeting services provided by other organisations with particular skills or expertise.
To ensure the best outcomes for our guests, we have a collaborative working approach with other hands-on agencies, such as the Downtown Community Ministry, Te Aro Health Centre, Aramuka (a CCDHB Homelessness initiative) and CCDHB mental health services. This collaborative approach also ensures that the agencies are not duplicating their work with particular clients.
If you’re new to town, have just come out of prison, have fallen on difficult times, or would like some help with health or housing problems, please speak to one of the staff at the Soup Kitchen, or contact us.