Sallies launching winter appeal

Donating eggs and winter woollies may help to cool the rate of poverty in Nelson this winter, the Salvation Army says.

The organisation’s Winter Appeal was launched this week, urging the public to spare a thought for people living in poverty over the colder months.

Nelson’s Community Ministry sees consistently high demand during winter, with an average of 30 people through the doors every day, most wanting assistance with basic needs.

Team leader Ros Vercoe said the appeal’s focus was raising awareness of the level of poverty in the region.

‘‘Places like Nelson are seen as a relatively affluent kind of area, but we actually have quite a lot of need here . . . people who are homeless, living rough, or the working poor.’’

‘‘Heating often drives other issues – payments go up because of the increased cost of heating, therefore they make the choice on how they spend their money best. ‘Do I put the money towards towards the house, so we’ve still got power? Or does it go on food, rent or petrol in the car to get the kids to school?’.’’

Vercoe said the church’s dropin sessions between 10am and 2pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays provided some outreach to those struggling. Food and winter woollies had been distributed to the homeless.

The Salvation Army had also been fortunate this winter to have benefited from the Countdown online appeal, Vercoe said.

‘‘We’ve been blessed with donations from that and from people bringing stuff to us as well – one of the benefits we’ve had from that is lots of fresh vegetables, so we can give to make soups. We often ask for nonperishable items, but actually fruit and vegetables are absolutely lovely.’’

Vercoe said eggs in particular were an under-resourced item that offered a good protein source and a good filler for families.

‘‘A couple of years ago, the cupboard was pretty much bare by the end of winter – I don’t think we’ll have that problem this year if things continue, but it’s not the kind of thing that you can guess.’’

The appeal runs until the end of the month. People can donate by visiting salvationarmy.org.nz/ winter.