Sunday Blessings Tāmaki Makaurau

25/06/2026

Lifewise Big Sleepout 2026

Last nights fundraising kaupapa was also for some of us, a meet up between comrades who all year round fight the good fight against homelessness and intersecting issues. The kōrero was much needed to keep the fires burning.

Rob, Chlöe, Matua Tigi, Hools, Joe, seeing you all again in this space was regenerative. Also a powerful speech from Rob Smith who highlighted his lived experience and the real connection between childhood poverty, youth engagement with the criminal justice system and rough sleeping.

Next year at this time Sunday Blessings will be fully run by our partners at Fair Food, Food Rescue Charity , but for now am thankful to still be a part of the community in service to our street whānau.

Mauri ora

11/04/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1baA32EesQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

UPDATE Monday 13 April | Mōrena everyone. All of our Civil Defence Centres have now CLOSED. Thank you to all of the council staff, our response teams and volunteers and our community partners who worked together to stand these sites up and take care of our communities 🫶❤️

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UPDATE TO CIVIL DEFENCE CENTRE OPENING HOURS:
Sunday 12 April, 2:40pm

We've had 28 people using our Civil Defence Centres overnight, and we're now in the process of closing down those no longer required.

UPCOMING CLOSURES ON SUNDAY 12 APRIL:
-Helensville War Memorial Hall - closing at 2.00pm
-Shoesmith Hall, Warkworth - closing at 6.30pm

These centres will be on standby to open again should the need arise.

-Ellen Melville Centre, Auckland CBD will be stood down at 8pm, transitioning to close at 8am tomorrow Monday 13 April.

Ostend Hall on Waiheke Island and Wellsford Community Centre will remain open overnight.

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Good afternoon Auckland, a couple of really important things.

1️⃣ We've just issued an emergency mobile alert to the Auckland region. We're taking every opportunity to make sure our communities use this afternoon to prepare for Cyclone Vaianu and have a plan in place for Sunday.

2️⃣ From 9pm tonight (Saturday) five Civil Defence Centres will be open.

If you need to leave your home, can’t get home, or can't shelter with friends or whānau overnight, temporary shelter will be available at our Civil Defence Centres in the wider Auckland region.

- Ostend Hall, Waiheke Island - Belgium Street, Ostend, Waiheke Island
- Wellsford Community Centre, 1 Matheson Road, Wellsford
- Shoesmith Hall, Shoesmith Street and Brown Road, Warkworth
- Helensville War Memorial Hall, 2 Porter Crescent Helensville
- Ellen Melville Centre, 2 Freyberg Place Auckland

🏠These centres will provide shelter, light snacks, and some basic sleeping arrangements.

👕 Please bring warm clothing and essential items like medicines, baby and children’s items and special food you may need.

♿️ All Civil Defence Centres are wheelchair accessible

🐶 A small number of pets can be accommodated (cats must be in cages and dogs on a lead).

Check our website for more detail: https://www.aucklandemergencymanagement.govt.nz/your-local/emergency-relief-centres/

Stay safe everyone 🫶

25/01/2026

24/12/2025

We were unable to provide a Xmas day service this year due to not having enough funding, however, we did the best we could at one of our regular Sunday services in December. Eight years of Sunday Blessings Xmas service between 2018-2025, after working all year round with the best team.

Kia Mataora i te Kiritimiti e te Mataiti Ou (🇨🇰) | Meri Kirihimete | Wishing all users, volunteers, partners and donors of the Sunday Blessings community a blessed day.

See you in 2026 where we hit the ground running with a stronger, more sustainable model, in partnership with . Thank you everyone for getting us here.

23/12/2025

🎄🎄🎄

09/12/2025

December 2025: As we head into 2026, and our eighth year of coordinating a Sunday meal for people experiencing homelessness and/or severe food poverty, it’s a good time to show just a fraction of the amazing community working to ensure no one in Auckland city is hungry on a Sunday night.

Our community is from all walks of life, but users, donors and volunteers are unified in the belief that every person, especially people experiencing homelessness, deserve hot, hearty and delicious kai on a Sunday in our wonderful city.

Acknowledging in order the following groups/whānau in this post, who have volunteered over the last four weeks:

Saint Kentigerns School
Somervell Presbyterian Church
Samoan youth led SISDAC
The Thomson family
Legend community volunteers
Sarn and Lillians from the Akarana Māori Wardens
The Southgate family
and more!

Thank you also to Tender Love and Care, Woolworths and Bluebells for kai, and for supporting users of our service every Sunday with showers and washing service.

Looking forward to our partnerships continuing on with you all into 2026, working together within a new and improved model making our service more epic and sustainable.