March 7 - Inaugural Neighbours Day Aotearoa announced for last weekend of March

A group of not-for-profit organisations joined forces in 2010 to create Neighbours Day Aotearoa, to encourage Kiwis to celebrate great neighbourhoods and get to know our neighbours better. The idea is for young, old, ‘new’ and multi-generational New Zealanders to make time in the last weekend of March to talk and have fun with their next door neighbours – even if it’s for the very first time. Read more.

Feb 22 - Welfare Working Group Report – A missed opportunity to deal with poverty and inequality

The final report by the Welfare Working Group released today has been described as “cruel, draconian and lacking in solutions that will properly deal with inter-generational poverty and its resulting social problems for NZ children and families” by John McCarthy, General Manager of Auckland social services provider LIFEWISE. Read more.

Dec 10 - Lifewise welcomes alternative group’s call to raise welfare benefits

The community and social services agency Lifewise backs the Alternative Welfare Review Group’s call for the Government to raise welfare benefits substantially. Lifewise general manager John McCarthy says the alternative group’s detailed report, Welfare Justice for All, sums up the reality that many people are struggling under the existing benefits. Read more.

Oct 15 - “Rough night in” raises $95,000 for Auckland’s homeless

Social services agency LIFEWISE has held its first Big Sleepout, where leading Aucklanders were sponsored to “sleep rough” overnight and raise funds for services to help the homeless. LIFEWISE general manager John McCarthy says the response has exceeded expectations. More than 60 business and community leaders as well as politicians slept on cardboard in a central city carpark and raised more than $95,000 towards a new venture, the LIFEWISE Hub. Read more or watch the news coverage.

Auckland leaders sleep rough to help tackle homelessness

Auckland business and community leaders will ‘sleep rough’ for a night in October to raise awareness of the growing problem of homelessness and raise much needed funds to help LIFEWISE get the homeless off the streets and into their own homes. Read the media release.

Government should act now to end homelessness, says LIFEWISE
Homelessness is a growing problem in New Zealand and it’s time the Government took action to tackle it nationally, says LIFEWISE General Manager John McCarthy - read more