What happens if Citizens Advice Bureaus aren’t here?

Rani Timoti from Helensville Citizens Advice Bureau

Time to listen non-judgementally and provide options, reassurance of the facts, help to access information, getting past the first step to resolve a problem that seemed insurmountable… the list goes on.
Whether we’re funded by Auckland Council and/or Central Government, that’s not on the mind of a volunteer. Whoever walks through our door becomes our world.
And when a client’s world is slip sliding away, and no disrespect to our fellow Aucklanders who have suffered from flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle, who is willing and able to support them?
Which council or central government staff member actually has the time, patience and understanding to spend on just one client in their daily working demands?
Our trained volunteers can and do spend hours according to at least one of our membership principles: Accessibility. And sometimes that same client needs to return more times, seeing other volunteers who are informed through our client enquiry database with confidentiality of their previous interactions.
Following witnessing the remarkable community spirit in our recent times of tragedy, former volunteer and client Devika Dhir reminds the powers that be that even in ordinary times the local Citizens Advice Bureau has always been there….”a perfect embodiment of the principle: local volunteers helping local help-seekers with local problems.”
“Our support structures and sense of community require strengthening, not dismantling. This moment calls for not indifference but an unyielding commitment to one another. An unyielding commitment to those we share the street with, the local community with, the city with, the country with and the planet with. That starts with local government.”
Please read her insightful article: www.newsroom.co.nz...
Please sign our petition: our.actionstation.org.nz...
Please make submissions: akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz...