We are an established non-for-profit charity operating in Highbury for the past 10 years, for a community that has always experienced extreme poverty. We are a vital service offering free food, clothing, homeware, kitchenware and more! We work with community organisations and refer whānau to health and social services, providing transport if required.

We are being accessed more and more each day. We are seeing new faces each day, coming from all areas of our city and communities on the outskirts of the city. We see around 100 people coming through our doors each day. The need for our service is now huge, especially we are seeing the impact of the rise in cost of living for whanau.

It is essential to the wellbeing of our community that we continue to deliver this free service. We are the only service like this in our region, where people come when they have no other options.  All ethnicities come to Te Whare Koha, where no one is turned away or judged, and people can access support as needed.

Te Whare Koha provides a place of relief, a safe community hub, a service where your immediate needs will be met. We also provide sustainability to the environment, saving millions of clothing and homeware from landfill due to lack of clothing bins and second-hand shops overwhelmed due to capacity.

We operate from a rental property in the heart of our community with 1 fulltime employee and a volunteer base of around 10 delivering this support.  Our paid staff are necessary to manage and organise our services, train, and coordinate volunteers, collaborate and maintain community relationships.