GBB Invercargill’s baking for Youth Transition Housing (YTH) Waihopai
YTH Waihopai has its own management structure within Methodist Mission Southern. It supports youth between the ages of 16 and 19 who are homeless or have experienced family breakdown. YTH Waihopai helps young people to develop independent living skills and those referred to the service can live at Waihopai for up to a year. Their mission statement is:
He panonitanga huanui! Nā te tautoko, nā te werowero ka hua ake tō ao Change that works: Enough support and challenge for you to risk a better future
Invercargill Good Bitches Baking has been delivering to YTH Waihopai since July last year. Laura is the co-ordinator at YTH Waihopai and says Tuesdays, when GBB baking is delivered, is “very exciting for everyone … and a really nice pick-me-up”. Laura enjoys meeting those who deliver the baking because of their warmth and friendliness. As for the baking, “We put it in the kitchen for the residents to have …it’s a chance to stand around the kitchen table to eat the baking and catch up and see how everyone is going.”
Laura says, for some, it’s the highlight of their day. Additionally they have a “chance to reflect and know someone out there is thinking of them and taking time out of their day to make something delicious for them”.
Residents enjoy the notes that come with the baking too—they are pinned up “in a special place” on the noticeboard and “residents often go and have a look to see what’s in the baking, and to help them select what they’d like to eat”.
Laura says the baking doesn’t last long—there’s often only “half a slice left by the next day!”