YEARS OF ADVICE: Keith Dobbie, Janie Waldon, Anne Collins, Margaret Murnane, Catherine Brown, Johnny Hudson, Alicia Carter and Michael O’Loughlin celebrate 50 years of helping Eastern Bay people this month.Photo Louis Klaassen D4254-7
DEBT is not a new thing. “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another,” is a biblical quote that suggests the concept of debt has been around for a long time.
The ways those in debt can be assisted, however, have changed considerably over time. With Whakatane Budget Advisory Service celebrating its 50th Jubilee, past chairwoman Johnny Hudson says, thankfully, there’s been change aplenty since the early 1900s when those who had fallen on hard times could find themselves forced to live in poorhouses, or worse, imprisoned for the non-payment of debts. In the 50 years the advisory service has been operating in the Eastern Bay, a support system has been developed that was unimaginable in those bygone days.
Taking shape in 1965, the Whakatane Budget Advisory Service has also come a long way since its own early beginnings. Located in Quay Street, with a staff of six and a pool of 14 well-trained volunteers, it offers a much broader range of services, funded by the Ministry of Social Development, grants and assistance from the district council.
Executive vice chairman Keith Dobbie says in the almost 30 years of his involvement, the service has grown from just a handful of voluntary budget advisers who would make their way, often by bicycle or foot, to the home of a person needing help. Home visits were the sole way the service operated for its first 25 years, he says.
“In the early days, there was no such thing as police checks and so on you just agreed on a time and turned up,” he says.
New laws brought in during the 1980s required so many legalities to be in place before a visit that the practice became too time consuming.
Coinciding with the advisory obtaining their first premises, “a tiny place in Boon Street where you couldn’t easily fit two people”, encouragement was given to those seeking help to come to the advisory building. “Home visits were often easier for the client, so it was something of a loss,” says Keith.
Having a building of their own brought many advantages though. The organisation is now well connected to a wide range of other support services, and works closely with Work and Income New Zealand, who refer up to half of the organisations clients. It is also affiliated to the New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services, which advocates to Government based on hard-and-fast statistics, something chairwoman Lynore Craig says is a Government requirement before making any policy changes.
Long-time stalwart of the advisory, Janie Waldon, has also seen many changes. Encompassing many roles in the service over the past 30 years, including chairwoman, Janie says Whakatane pioneered the first advisory in the Bay of Plenty and set the bar for others.
Assisting families whose breadwinner was in prison was one of the main incentives kick-starting the first services. “Social welfare was not an option then, and those families came under immense financial pressure.”
These days, problems the advisory sees stem from a variety of situations. Common contributing factors are issues around child support payment, hefty housing rents, student loans and unemployment. And there is a common theme of debt entrapment.
“If someone is in a low income situation and has a vehicle, then it’ll likely be an older one. That vehicle is more likely to break down. There is less money for repairs, or warrants of fitness. It then follows that there is a higher risk of traffic fines, and decreased ability to pay them.
“Then there can be court fines and borrowing from Work and Income to pay the bills, difficulty paying Work and Income back and so on. It’s a trap, and is very stressful. Our role is to listen to these people and look to how we can help them. We put immediate and long term budgets in place and generally support them.”
“Helping to bring about a good result such as preventing eviction of a family struggling to pay their rent is very rewarding,” says manager Michael O’Loughlin. “There is clearly a strong need for the service, and having a centrally located building means the advisory is more visible to the community than it once was. People are able to just walk in off the street now,” he says.
Ensuring the service remains visible is a priority. “We take whatever opportunity we can to advertise” says Johnny. A recipe column the advisory has long run in the local paper remains one of its “most effective ways of connecting with the community.
“The focus is on minimal ingredients, being cheap and easy to make, and tasty to eat. It’s hugely popular,” says Johnny, and not only with the budget conscious. “We were surprised by a call from England recently regarding a lost recipe. A couple had picked up a recipe and made it when here on holiday, but lost a page on their way back home. They’re very popular recipes and we have people who follow the column religiously.”
There is clearly much achievement for the organisation to celebrate, and jubilee secretary Alicia Carter says two events are planned. A celebratory lunch will be held for those both currently and formerly involved with the advisory, and the annual meeting will be attended by all of the agencies the advisory works with.
Lorraine Wilson