Offenders have been busy clearing out rubbish, painting, and cleaning up the small section surrounding the building, formerly part of the RSA.
The centre is a place for local women and their children to get support, friendship and advice.
It also offers referrals for services such as Women’s Refuge, parenting advice and dealing with domestic violence. Bathroom, laundry and phone/fax facilities are also available, as well as access to free clothing.
The centre hit a rough patch earlier this year when its rent increased and trustees were forced to look for an alternative site. After a four-month struggle, an empty building was donated by the Thames District Council. There was one catch; the building had been empty for some time and was in no shape to provide a safe, clean environment for women in need. Vandals had broken windows and marred the walls with graffiti.
That was until community work staff from Community Probation & Psychological Services stepped in Senior community work supervisor Noel Harrison was only too happy to help restore the new base, and says the offenders involved have been very motivated under supervisors Darrell Gilmour and Chris Williams.
“Once they got everything painted the graffiti stopped. There is some finality and achievement for them in that.” Virginia (Anne) Reynolds, who manages the centre, says that while the centre obviously benefits from their efforts, the offenders also learn a valuable lesson about theimplications of their offending.
“Many of the women who come to the centre have experienced hard times, and while the guys working on the project aren’t necessarily the cause of that, they can still see that what they do has an impact on other people – on people that they love.”
The centre also acts as a community work agency, regularly taking on female offenders who help clean the house, do gardening and sort donated goods. Plans are in place to offer training in the centre’s charity shop, an opportunity for some of the women who use the centre to gain job skills and confidence so they can get back into the workforce.
Photo: Virginia (Anne) Reynolds from the Women’s Centre is happy to receive a plaque from CW supervisor Noel Harrison, acknowledging the work offenders have done on the centre’s newpremises.
Got a story for Community Works or want to request the print edition?
Email commdesk@corrections.govt.nz or phone (04) 460 3365.
Community Works is published quarterly by the Department of Corrections. Contact details for Community Probation & Psychological Services can be found here or by looking under C for Corrections in the Government listings of the Telecom White Pages.
ISSN 1178-1327