It was only meant to be a six week project, but it lasted for two years. The engagement and results speak for themselves, with a number of city's most difficult to reach rough sleepers now housed. Most the 'kaewa' or 'wanderers' have been living on the streets for years and struggle with multiple issues including addiction and mental health problems. Housing First- Otautahi sit up the commons project during covid so the homeless would have somewhere to gather during the lock down. The result was a shared meeting place in the central city, where those needing help could connect with those providing help, but on their on terms. The gatherings only last for a few hours each week, but that's all it takes to build trust and deepen relationships.

Located in the heart of Papanui, WesleyCare provides the very best care to people needing to transition from living in their own home to a more comprehensive support environment. It provides a range of care from rest home and hospital level care through to respite and palliative care. WesleyCare provides the support needed by residents and their loved ones that meet their unique requirements. WesleyCare staff and residents can often be seen sharing a laugh together in the corridors and residents catch up with each other over a cuppa or shared interest.

When you think of street art what is front of mind? Banksy? Well how about the homeless, people who actually call the streets home because they have nowhere else to live. In Ōtautahi Christchurch, to mark World Homeless Day, the homeless are holding their own street exhibition. Here in New Zealand we call them the Kaewa or wanderers a term of respect for those struggling to find permanent shelter because of hardship, mental health issues or addiction. The project has been organised by Housing First and runs until Sunday the 15th of October https://www.housingfirstchch.co.nz/.../World-Homeless.../ partnering with The White Room Creative Space, Life in Vacant Spaces, Creative Junk and Telling Lives to bring you this event. #homeless #housingfirst #whiteroom #lifeinvacantspaces #tellinglives #christchurchcitycouncil body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

To be able to grow your own fruit and veg on a busy street in the inner city is such a joy, we only have a tiny section but my wife Mel has put considerable energy and time into creating a beautiful wild garden. It's a surprising untamed place, a mix of flowers, vegetables, berries and herbs. It's where we go foraging for food, our wild place amidst the noise and traffic of modern living - literally. The cars rumble past as we weed the garden and tend the tomatoes. Mel is such a wonderfully positive person, the garden she gifted the family has changed our lives for the better. It's living proof that you can build your own kind of paradise even in a central city suburb.

No mistake, bowls is a highly competitive game, you need only watch the experienced players to see how seriously they take each delivery. But as a newbie my chance of falling anywhere close to the jack is more accident than design. But that’s not a bad thing as my reason for taking up bowls is stress relief than success. While, like anyone I like to win, it’s the psychological break from the incessant buzz of the world that has really drawn me to the game. It’s been suggested that when they were handing out adhd diagnoses I was probably near the front of the queue, while I’m not sure that I would agree, I’m happy to acknowledge that bowls is a salve for the restless mind.