Auckland's Gay and Lesbian Welfare group has expanded its operation to take over the whole floor of their Anzac Ave premises. Spokesman Neville Creighton says the expansion was made possible by a $17,000 grant from the Auckland City Council's Community Group Accomodation Fund, a new initiative. The money will cover Gay and Lesbian Welfare's rent for the entire year. The organisation is currently undergoing a major review to assess its services. "We've got two independent professional consultants doing that who've both given their time for free," says Creighton. "After 35 years of operation, are we still doing the best we can? We're struggling with the concept of the word 'welfare' in our title, what does that mean, what are the boundaries of that?" There have been discussions in recent months over how to utilise the extra office space. The idea of providing emergency accomodation was shelved over security issues, but an alternative has been formulated. "What we're looking at is having a fund in our accounts, for instance, if somebody wanted a couple of weeks of emergency accommodation, we'd say there's a studio apartment in the hotel next door, we'll pay for it for two weeks for you," Creighton explains. Community groups will be able to make use of the expanded facilities also. "There's a large training/events room that seats 40 quite comfortably, that's available to our community groups for free," says Creighton. "We've got all sorts of equipment, projectors, screens, TV, electronic whiteboard, which are available for a charge. They're also available for commercial enterprises if they want to use the rooms and pay a hireage fee, we've got to work out a schedule yet."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 5th April 2006 - 12:00pm