2023 Annual Report

As New Zealand struggles to address the challenges brought about by the challenging global economic situation, the role and services of CMM are more important than ever.

The cost of living crisis hits the more vulnerable in a community first. The test of a decent society is how we treat those with the greatest need.

The growing number of unhoused people on our streets and living in motels are indicators of the lack of love in our economy. CMM seeks to identify causes and address them in a caring and supportive way. Our challenge is to think through and fund long-term deep investments that empower and change people’s lives for the better.

In a series of articles in the Listener, Rebecca Macfie has written about challenges in our society for those who are struggling to survive: 

‘…they can’t fix a housing system that favours the rights of housing investors over the human rights of families to decent homes.”

Our country struggles to find solutions to NZ’s housing crisis. This requires long-term political collaboration by all parties. Community housing initiatives need support by central and local government, iwi and churches. CMM continues to build houses to address these inequities. The evidence of the resulting wellbeing for families in our houses, with support if needed, is obvious as people’s lives settle into normality.

We are only able to provide the broad range of services from cradle to grave because of the dedicated and generous staff who live the kaupapa of the Mission. Staff from all our sectors present to our Board at each meeting. This keeps us up to date with the challenges on the ground. As a Board we are blown away by the professionalism, energy, commitment, and love manifested by our staff at all levels. 
In the past year CMM has introduced the Living Wage for all staff. It’s important that we live our message of equity in our society.

The Government continues to underpay for the provision of aged care. This is a constant challenge for our Board and I commend all our hospital and rest home staff for their dedication as they provide their high level of care.

The Christchurch Methodist Parishes continue to provide support, funding, and prayers for the work of the Mission. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and valued. 

CMM is respected throughout NZ. It provides a voice for those who are often forgotten. Nobody manifests this better than Jill Hawkey, our Executive Director.  As a Board we are proud and grateful to have a leader who articulates and advocates at both a local and national level for the challenge of social justice.

To my fellow Board members who freely donate their time and expertise, I thank you for all your contribution and wisdom.

To our external donors, thank you. The stories in this Annual Report demonstrate how well your contributions have impacted on the work of the Mission and the lives of those we serve.

The end of Covid-19 lockdowns has enabled CMM to continue developing its diverse range of services across the community.

Residents of WesleyCare and their families have appreciated the end of visitor restrictions, group work with children and adults re-started, and staff enjoyed rebuilding relationships at the inaugural All Staff Retreat. New initiatives have flourished such as the Pasifika Mamas Group and CMM taking on responsibility for Christchurch’s Blanket Bank.

CMM became a Living Wage Employer during the year; the first Aged Care provider to have done so. The Pay Equity Claim for Social Workers with the PSA was also settled, with funding to meet higher social work wage costs being granted by the Government. Both initiatives recognise the compassion, knowledge and skills that CMM’s employees contribute every day. 

In recent years, CMM’s staff team has increased significantly to 280 workers. Having appointed our first Housing worker in 2015, we now have 71 staff working on housing issues across Christchurch, Blenheim, Nelson and Greymouth. 

We are continuing to witness the challenges for older people without significant assets seeking either affordable housing or residential care. The wait list for our affordable rental accommodation at Wesley Village has continued to grow and we are proud that WesleyCare offers high-quality rest home and hospital-level care irrespective of financial circumstances. However, this does mean that WesleyCare incurs financial losses as Government aged care fees do not meet increasing costs; a fact that we highlighted to Hon. Andrew Little, then Minister of Health, when he visited WesleyCare.

The overall financial position of CMM is strong, with surpluses applied to social housing projects. Having supported many homeless families in emergency and transitional housing in Blenheim, our first building project of six two-bedroom houses is now underway.

In Christchurch, we are partnering with local parishes to build housing on their land. We have undertaken a long-term lease of 14 new family homes in the Karamū development and have established He Oranga Rua, seven units for those who have been long-term homeless and have struggled to maintain a tenancy, as part of the Housing First programme. Transitional housing is also being provided for young people, working alongside the Supported Accommodation service for young people leaving Oranga Tamariki.

While much of CMM’s work is supported with Government contracts, many of our services such as the Community Development Workers, the Whānau Support Worker at Aratupu, and the Chaplain at WesleyCare are reliant on the support of individuals, parishes and philanthropic organisations. We are incredible grateful to all those who support CMM’s vision of a just and inclusive society in which all people flourish.