Struggling to support the struggling

After 40 years of helping people navigate unemployment and the welfare system, a local organisation is calling upon the local community to help them help others.

The Beneficiaries and Unwaged Workers Trust (BUWT) is a non-government community organisation that provides free information, advice and support for beneficiaries and low-income earners.

It was set up in the early 1980s by a group of Nelsonians who were concerned about the rising rate of unemployment.

Manager Kay Brereton says their client numbers have doubled in the last year and continue to grow, but they may be forced to reduce their services if more funding is not sourced.

“People’s situations are just getting harder and more complicated,” says Kay, who was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal in 2020 for services to the welfare of beneficiaries.

“But we’re in a bit of a financial hole. We rely on grants and funding… I know we’re not alone in being an agency who wonders how we’ll pay wages next week.”

BUWT has two permanent part-time staff, who work three days per week, and some volunteers.

“It’s a hard job. You hear a lot of stress, and sadly, there are not many people in the country now with those skills,” says Kay, who is also part of the National Beneficiary Advocates Consultative Group, which regularly consults with the Ministry of Social Development.

“We get some of the hard cases that people don’t know how to do… we refer to ourselves as the ‘agency of last resort’. People come in here in incredible stress and they just don’t know where to go or what to do.”

Kay says the soaring cost of rent is the hardest thing for people who are navigating unemployment or living on a benefit.

“We’re watching homelessness increase in our city in a way that it never used to be, and that’s really sad,” the Murchison local says.

“People get $105 a week maximum accommodation supplement as a single person – and for some, that isn’t even a quarter of their rent.”

She says more people are living in cars or tents and it’s becoming tougher for people to access emergency housing.

“And if you’re homeless, who’s going to hire you? You don’t really want an employee who turns up scruffy and smelly because they’ve been sleeping in their car.”

BUWT also helps people with free clothing and food, and she says the demand for food parcels is increasing monthly.

They have a garden plot up The Brook where they grow fresh vegetables, and they also get Kai Rescue on Mondays and Wednesdays.

“Last Monday we had at least a dozen people waiting for Kai Rescue to arrive and within 10 minutes about four boxes of food were all gone,” Kay says.

“People can also just come in for a coffee and have a bit of a chat because being on a benefit is a really isolating experience.”

She says one of the ways they are trying to stay afloat is by offering a paid subscription to a benefit ‘fact file’ that she helped to create at the Wellington People’s Centre.

“It’s roughly 40 or so pages of reasonably plain English information about benefits, aimed at the community worker level that gets updated regularly.”

On top of the funding shortage, BUWT is also dealing with leaky windows and wet carpet at their office on Selwyn Place.

“We have a big 60-litre bucket that overflowed over Christmas when it rained.”

Kay says donations of money would be greatly appreciated. People can also donate food, clothing or their time to volunteer.

“Even $2 goes further than no $2.”

But one of the biggest things people can do to help the situation is to be compassionate and willing to listen, Kay adds.

“Realise that there’s a story behind that person needing a benefit. We’re really seeing hardship in our town, and I think there’s a whole lot of people who just don’t want to see it, or maybe they just don’t go to places where they can see it.”

To donate, go to www.buwt.wordpress.com or email [email protected] to find out more.