Trindi | Motueka, Tasman

“Previously I’ve been the manager for the Salvation Army here in Motueka, social services, community ministries. So, my role in the community obviously was listening to many, many people.

I’ve since become a Mot Ward councillor, and so my area of focus is somewhat a little different from what it was. When Covid-19 hit, I had quite a few people ring me about their concerns for other people within the community, and it was really good to still be able share my knowledge of being here and working within this community. To be able to actually hear where some people are with Covid, to hear the positives and the negatives, and there are lots of positives about what Covid brought to many people.

I was fortunate enough to be able to receive a phone call from one particular member of our community who had some accommodation available, and so they’d decided to move in together to do lockdown as a big whānau. They rang us and then within a short period of time, we were able to find somebody who was homeless where we could then put them into that available accommodation. So, that was pretty good. It was a win-win for everybody, really.

At one point in my own personal journey, I was homeless. I have an understanding of what it’s like when the rubber hits the road, and what it’s like to find yourself in a position that you don’t want to be in. So, that started my journey of trying to give back to the community when the community gave to me many years ago. I’m very passionate about people. I’m passionate about people’s well-being and seeing that their basic needs are met, like a roof over their head. I got a lot of support from the community at the time, and I got to a place on my own journey where I could give back, and so I’m very passionate about making sure people have homes, that they have somewhere that they can lay their head at night and feel safe and protected.

I got nominated or elected into local council as a Mot Ward councillor back in October last year. So, I’ve gone from this affair of working for the Salvation Army under social work, to working for Local Government, which has been a huge change, a steep learning curve, but I’m loving it, because I get to work with a wider sector within the community. I get to be engaged in lots of different conversations at lots of different levels, not just people’s wellbeing but the infrastructure of the community, where the needs are, where people’s aspirations are, where they want to see our wider district heading. It’s a good change, but yes, I do miss what I did before.

Motueka is a very inclusive community. I have a daughter with extra needs, and we moved here in 2010, fell in love with the place. It was very inclusive. It’s very vibrant. It’s a bit of a transient town, but there’s lots and lots to offer, and post-Covid, this little community is very much supporting each other, the locals are looking after local industry which is really good to see.

I think it’s really important that we have heart-to-hearts. I believe it’s important that everybody has someone that they can go to, to be heard. It’s part of having a sense of belonging, and part of being included. None of us were designed, or destined to do life on our own. So, I think the heart-to-hearts or just being able to give someone your ear is vitally important. It’s fulfilling.”