Robyn Edie / Stuff
Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu representative trustee and Grace St project manager, Terry Nicholas, says the South Invercargill community is accessible to everyone from the disadvantaged to the rainbow community.
A new community center in south Invercargill will open up learning opportunities and eventually employment opportunities for disadvantaged people, says a Ngai Tahu leader.
Invercargill Community Connections Charitable Trust (IC2) has so far raised $1.98m of the $4.48m required to complete the 690sqm Grace Street development, near the city’s southern shopping centre.
The project will see the former Grace Street Chapel redeveloped into a multi-purpose space for the community to use.
Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu representative trustee and Grace St project manager, Terry Nicholas, said the space would be accessible to everyone from the disadvantaged to the rainbow.
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It would give users of the facility a “safe space”, to connect with people and be part of it, he said.
South Invercargill was a rare area that would get worse if the Tiwai aluminum smelter closed and the Grace Street project was intended to help change that, he said.
The trust was partnering with the Southern Institute of Technology on the site and some of its users will be introduced to new ways to learn and help prepare the workforce.
“Empower them and make them aware of job opportunities,” said Nicholas.
It has been given
A rendering of a community center to be built in south Invercargill called The Grace Street Project. The old building being renovated is located at 139 Grace Street.
People will be welcomed to the site and encouraged; they will be shown that there is more to life than having profits and being caught in judgments, he said.
“We need to have people who are changing careers.”
Grace St project chairperson Janette Malcolm said south Invercargill had faced challenges, but there was an opportunity to start turning things around.
“It won’t happen overnight, we need to think long-term with these projects.”
At its simplest level the Grace St project would provide space for many different groups in the community, but at a more complex level it was aimed at social change.
Robyn Edie / Things / Things
Invercargill Community Connections Charitable Trust (IC2) chairperson Janette Malcolm outside the former Grace Street Chapel building which will be transformed into a community center for residents of south Invercargill. The picture they have is what the finished product will look like.
Malcolm said he was encouraged by the support of the community.
“There’s excitement about what this project will give people in terms of learning and community engagement, but there’s also a bigger picture, realizing that not enough has been done in south Invercargill, because it’s so far behind.
“If we want a safe future for everyone then we need to do more to help people.”
The Grace Street project, which started in 2020, has raised 44% of the total cost of the project, but it needs to reach 70% before it can be delivered in detail.
Funding is now available from the Invercargill Licensing Trust [$320,000]Southern Institute of Technology [$250,000]Invercargill City Council [$100,000]Aotearoa Gaming Trust [$200,000]Community Trust South [$75,000]confidential [$500,000]Lottery Community Facilities Fund [$500,000] and private trusts [$40,000].
People can donate to The Grace Street Project on their website.
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