Lifting up the most marginalised during Lockdown 2021

Just as we did in 2020, Lockdown 2021 saw us working together once again, to ensure that the most marginalised were supported at this challenging time. From DCM kaimahi, to our team of health professionals, to our wonderful supporters - here members of team DCM talk about their work supporting the most marginalised during the latest lockdown.

Natalia

OUTREACH team

Natalia and Joanne headed out on Outreach together during lockdown

“We had a pair on outreach every day during lockdown, following up on notifications sent to us from the council or directly to us from concerned members of the public. During the three weeks at Level 3 and Level 4, we had 34 notifications, compared to the month of July when we had 23 notifications for that whole month. We also followed up on some notifications from the Porirua City Council, as they don’t have a team like our’s. We were able to show them what assertive outreach services look like in action.

During lockdown, everyone on team DCM has worked together, doing whatever it takes to support whānau during these challenging times. Members of our Outreach team have manned the 0800 number, been scribe support for kaimahi who were on the ground, supported on-site sessions, and delivered food and welfare checks, all on top of following up on notifications. Members of other teams have also gone out with us when we have needed support.

Joanne was a member of the Aro Mai Housing First team out at the Hutt during lockdown 2021. One afternoon, Joanne and I were doing street outreach around the Wellington CBD. We had one or two notifications to check on and as we were walking back to the base we came across a member of whānau who almost every single DCM member of staff had been trying to find during the week. We had been wanting to get him into the emergency accommodation (EH) that had been booked for him. With appropriate social distancing, Joanne and I were able to bundle him and his blankets up and to walk him about a kilometre up the road to the EH where he happily checked in. It helped that Joanne bought him some coffee, sugar and milk and promised him that she would deliver a food parcel to him the next day; this was enough incentive for him to stay. It was a job very well done, and at last we were able to head back to the office. Just before we got to Dixon Street who did we see, but another whānau who everyone at DCM had been looking for and trying to get into the accommodation. After a bit of convincing (and half of Joanne’s cheese scone!), he too turned around and followed us up to the accommodation and happily checked in. I have to say that when we were again attempting to get back to the office after what had turned into a very, very long day, we kept our heads and eyes down so that we didn’t see anyone else unexpectedly! Yes, it was a long day, but also a very successful one.

When the rest of the city goes in to lockdown, DCM and our NGO colleagues continue to fill the void that other agencies and businesses leave when they close their doors. For example, people can contact MSD case managers by phone, but what if you don’t have a phone or any money to buy one? People who have no fixed abode and lose their Eftpos cards can’t access their money because the banks are closed and therefore they cannot go into a bank to order a new card. Rather they would have to log in to internet banking (a barrier for most of the people we work with) and have a bank card sent to their address (another barrier for whānau). In these real life lockdown examples, DCM has stepped in to give people cell phones with credit, and to organise for benefits to be sent to DCM’s money management account and whānau to be given DCM Eftpos cards, so they can access their money. We leave the safety of our own homes and safe bubbles, to continue to offer face-to-face, daily support for people who cannot access some human rights, because those who provide the services aren’t able to offer a solution that meets their most marginalised clients’ needs.”

George

ARO MAI HOUSING FIRST team

George and Jay load up the car with food parcels to be delivered to taumai during lockdown

“I joined the team at DCM in June, so I was still a fairly new team member when we went back in to lockdown. We were immediately paired up with a bubble partner; I was paired up with Jay and the two of us worked together throughout the lockdown period. I would begin my working day by checking flags and seeing if there were any emails that I could quickly follow up on. I would then head out to pick up Jay, with the work car. We always had one in the front and one in the back when we were together in a car. We would arrive at DCM at our allocated time to load our food parcels into the car.

Jay and I would make a plan as to which suburbs we would head to first – to deliver food parcels or for the other follow-ups we needed to make. This could be anything from a welfare check on someone who is isolated, ensuring people have their money cards, doing someone’s shopping who finds budgeting difficult, or getting a phone to someone who doesn’t have one.”

“I would drive, Jay would sit in the back and keep checking our list of addresses and phone numbers for whānau who needed food parcels. Sometimes I would have to use GoogleMaps, but we were not too bad at navigating on the whole. Jay gets car sick if he has to look at his phone while we are moving so we did our admin when we stopped. DCM had allocated a scribe for the day to each pair bubble, so we would phone our scribe and get them to type up any notes for us into the database, or do any research we needed done. We would call whānau when we arrived or knock – most people were so pleased to see us and thankful for the food and social contact.

Let me tell you about one such day. We visited one man to deliver a food parcel. We then learned that he needed to get in touch with his doctors about renewing a prescription. We were able to sort this out over the phone and so he just needed to pick up the script. Another person we visited for a welfare check, told us that he had been having a bit of trouble with someone close to him. We were able to hear him express his worries and pass on information to his key worker for follow up.

We also visited a young woman who had got in touch with DCM by calling the 0800 number. We went to see her out in Titahi Bay where she had been able to move in with her Dad for a bit. She hadn’t been finding staying with him very easy and was very happy to get a food parcel from us, and to have someone to talk to about the challenges she was facing.

When we were not going out to connect with whānau, we spent a lot of time working to get people into emergency housing and ensuring that they could remain in their emergency accommodation. We also made sure that people had access to their health supports, found out if they needed to go to court under level 3, organised phones or food parcels, worked out what people could pay for with the MSD payment cards, determined what other supports they needed and joined meetings by Zoom. We were every bit as busy as we would be on an average day at DCM, and were able to provide the same level of support, safely – by being creative, committed and kind.”

Delena

Sustaining Tenancies team

“During the lockdown period, DCM was divided into different bubbles. I enjoyed being in a bubble with Tabitha from the Aro Mai Housing First team. This was a great opportunity to get to know someone from another team. We would start our day by planning it out geographically – figure out who we needed to visit and where they lived to make things as smooth-sailing as possible.

Food was definitely an important support for whānau during lockdown, and we were able to take food parcels to those who needed them, leaving them at their door. We had two whānau in a bubble who lined up for fresh veges at their housing complex. C ended up with one onion, a carrot and a parsnip. Her bubble partner R got a beetroot, a broccoli and a kumara. That’s not even a stir fry! The problem is that some whānau are ‘heater-uppers’, not Alison Holst. Not to mention not having access to even basic utensils like can openers. So I made it my mission to get them an appropriate food parcel so they could eat together. They have been a good example of how our whānau support one another, how important this has been during lockdown, and how a simple thing like preparing a meal together can give them such a sense of achievement.

One other thing we quickly discovered delivering food was that our whānau were desperate for someone to talk to. When we went to visit M he came right out the front door with a look in his eyes that told me we’d left him for too long! You could tell immediately how happy he was to see us. We were able to talk to whānau at a safe distance during lockdown. It’s in their faces – you can always see in the eyes of our whānau how much time they need from us. Some of them would be calling over and over again on the 0800 number, and we knew they needed the reassurance of a visit to settle them.

Other whānau can sometimes give us a hard time, but at DCM we never close the door on anyone. One of our Sustaining Tenancies whānau got himself into trouble before lockdown and ended up in Rimutaka. He was bailed to an address that wasn’t ideal and then lockdown happened. He did find the time during lockdown to give me a piece of his mind! But I could understand his frustrations. It took him a while to acknowledge that all our services have processes we must follow, and that he’s no exception to the rule. At the end of the day, like so many of our whānau, he is also terribly lonely. He really needs time to unpack his ‘stuff’ – and that will be my next step with him once he’s settled into his new whare. I call this transformation – and self-emancipation. That’s the freedom I would love to see all of our whānau enjoy one day.”

“At any level of lockdown I am just on the other end of the phone. We can triage whānau's needs and from what is being described, I'll quickly be able to tell if they need an urgent appointment at the hospital or if we can put a band aid on in the form of antibiotics, until DCM is able to open again. Fortunately emailing prescriptions has been made much easier nowadays.

And as soon as we were back at Level 2, we dentists were able to get back to DCM to run emergency dental sessions for those in the most pain. Whānau have been absolutely amazing, working in with DCM's Level 2 safety guidelines and as always, the people we're seeing here don't have easy access to dental care. It is great to be back on site here at DCM where they feel comfortable.”

“At DCM, we were one of the few organisations able to continue to support the most marginalised people in our city face to face during alert level 4. We know that our whānau are even more vulnerable and isolated at times like this. How do we respond as an essential service, when others have closed their doors?

The great news is that whānau were able to engage with us on our 0800 number, with some in-person mahi delivered at a safe distance. Another key focus for us has been to ensure whānau have access to the COVID vaccine. Offering the vaccine at DCM during alert level 4 was challenging, but also absolutely necessary. We know how very vulnerable these people are to the Delta variant. Later, during Level 2 restrictions, we were able to offer a third vaccine day at DCM, with even more of the most vulnerable receiving their first or second dose of the vaccine.

If there are any ways we at DCM can ensure whānau are not even more marginalised as a result of COVID and lockdowns, we will search them out and deliver them. This has always been DCM’s kaupapa, and is what we are all about. We know this is why so many of you support our mahi, and why you stepped up again during lockdown 2021, donating money and food so that we can carry on.”

The Wellington Community

Lockdown 2021 has again reminded us that the people of Wellington really do have our backs, and the backs of our whānau. During the lockdown levels, DCM provided far more food support to the most vulnerable people than we usually would – and as a result, our foodbank shelves were rapidly emptied. Local groups and individuals understood this, and stepped up to help. From The Freemasons Charity, the St. John’s Trust Op Shop and St. John's in the City who provided extra dollars for DCM to purchase food, to New World Chaffers who, when they received a large order from DCM, provided all of the items as a donation.

Ngaio Union Church opened their doors to people who wanted to donate food items for DCM to restock our foodbank; the two women seen here with minister Sue Brown, travelled all the way from Miramar where the Grind Health & Fitness gym had organised a collection. Ka mau te wehi!

At a time when it was difficult for people to get in to the city to purchase and deliver groceries for the DCM Foodbank, Ngaio Union Church opened their doors for local people to bring in food donations to restock our shelves. Yes, lockdown 2021 provided many examples of how the people of Wellington come together to support DCM and the people we work with. If you would also like to help in this way, remember that you can donate groceries at any time to our foodbank bin at New World Chaffers, and that there are a number of different ways in which you can make donations to our work.