Waipā District Council’s Corren Ngerengere, left, and Felicity Beadle of the Wise Group say ‘Here to help u’ is answering a need in Cambridge.
‘Here to help u’ has been welcomed by those among the first to use it in Cambridge.
Community connector with Cambridge Community House (CCH), Francis Radloff, said CCH had jumped at the opportunity to work with the online tool because of its ‘excellent track record’ during pandemic lockdowns.
“Often Cambridge is said to be doing just fine, but as a social provider we can tell you there is need, and it’s hidden. ‘Here to help u’ spreads the message that help is available, and we concentrate on providing our services. Most requests have been for kai, so we collaborate to fulfil the need with emergency kai boxes.”
Helping CCH is the Salvation Army in Cambridge, Raleigh St Christian Centre and FreshChoice Leamington.
Both the Salvation Army and the Raleigh St Christian Centre were quick to come on board, seeing ‘Here to help u’ as an opportunity to collaborate with other services to provide assistance over a full seven days.
Cambridge Salvation Army corps officers Scott and Aimee Noakes said they were excited to be part of the new online referral service. “It brings together in an online space many of our fellow food providers and allows for clients in need to access specific services in a quick and seamless manner,” said Aimee.
Raleigh St Christian Centre operations manager Bevan Vivian said RSCC was delighted to be part of the team delivering ‘Here to help u’ at a time of need.
“We are taking assignments that come in on Sundays, and we back up the Salvation Army and Cambridge Community House if there is any overrun on other days of the week.”
