The golden thread that binds us - a conversation with Lorraine Scanlon, CEO of Homebuilders West Coast Trust

There’s a golden thread that binds the community social service sector and the government sector. No, it’s not money or contracts! It’s an ethic of care and service to people and community. Currently this golden thread is being stretched thin. What happens when there’s tension on the line? How and why do we keep serving our communities and the people who matter to us?

The ethic of care and service that binds the government and community sectors was most evident during COVID 19. We all went above and beyond, putting others’ needs before our own. We all saw a need and met that need. We expected nothing in return. We were bound together by the golden threads of generosity and big-heartedness; of service to our people and our communities. We trusted each other to do what was needed.

In July 2021 there was a serious flood in Westport. The Trust was flooded for the fourth time and permanently lost access to its premises. Some staff had flooded homes. But they kept delivering services to their community (for the next two years) from their homes or local schools, or from a new hub. The Homebuilder’s Trust was one of the lead agencies to set up a community hub for the people who had been flooded. The CEO was involved with Civil Defence. Government and community agencies worked alongside each other – once again bound by that spirit of service.

And then, in 2024, with little notice, the Trust lost government funding for two support and counselling services for young people and whānau. And still, the staff kept on going and the organisation started seeking funding elsewhere for those services.

Lorraine Scanlon, CEO of Homebuilders West Coast Trust says service sits at the core of their resilience. “Our team worked from a variety of places during COVID and the floods, and some of those locations weren't always great, to be fair. But they made it work. And they made it work to continue to serve the people in our community.”

That care and service comes at a cost. “It’s been totally exhausting,” she says. “But my staff have been absolutely brilliant. We stayed close as a team, coming together in rented rooms when we could. And we kept meeting our targets and we continue to help our communities, no matter what.”

Lorraine doesn’t believe that some of the statements that were made by government about the sector over the past 12 months have valued the work that our sector delivers, or the ethic of care and service that binds us. “Our community had been through so much and we have so much evidence of the need and we all pulled together through that time. We all worked really well together. So, to then find your contracts changing and your funding changing, that was harsh!” says Lorraine.

Lorraine remembers a time when the Trust received a high trust contract with Oranga Tamariki that was for three years. “So for three years, we knew the services we were going to be delivering. We could plan accordingly. We reported annually we received the funds annually. That worked well. I would dearly like to see more trust, confidence and faith in the relationships we have at a regional and local level.”

Meantime, Lorraine tries to keep her focus on meeting client need before meeting government need. “Now, I don't know that I should say it like that, but why are those things not the same? I can't answer that question. We are asked to focus on meeting government targets, whatever they might be, but none of us is sure yet what they are.”

The narrow focus on targets creates multiple dilemmas for the organisation.

“It's difficult for client needs to be fully met,” says Lorraine. “We need to work with our clients at their pace based on whatever they want to achieve – that doesn’t always work to three-month funding rounds or targets. We've been lucky in the past to provide wraparound services but now we’re required to narrow our delivery – we still do the wraparound anyway!

Lorraine says the contracting process doesn't value and allow you to make mistakes and it doesn't value and allow you to learn – it only allows you to deliver an output towards a specific target. “But I think being a learning organisation is another core part of our resilience and endeavour on behalf of our communities,” she says. “So, there are no mistakes in our workplace. We don’t look for fault or blame, we look for the learning opportunity. The people we work with teach us something every day. We are all, always learning.”

“The things that really excite me are the ways our staff find different ways to help our children – things that are different from just having them sit and talk it out,” says Lorraine. “We've been able to do some beautiful group work with young people.”

One example of this is buying bikes for mountain biking groups. This came from a staff member having an outdoor education qualification. Children, some of whom have never ridden a bike before learn how the bike works, how to look after the bike and about road rules. They learn about shared leadership.

Waves also teach you about life, says Lorraine and another staff member has a social enterprise called WaveWise Surf Therapy. When she charges an adult session, some of that payment will pay for a young person to learn to surf and the life lessons it brings.

The Homebuilders West Coast Trust continues to innovate for their community. They’re setting up this year for their biannual fundraiser, which is a wearable art show. A local farming family has sold their house to the Trust for their offices. Lorraine has found funding for the defunded services – but only on an annual basis.

The Homebuilders West Coast Trust is also instrumental in forming another trust to build a cultural and community hub. “That’s our future vision,” says Lorraine, even though she feels there doesn’t seem to be much vision at a systemic level – noting that district councils have been told by central government that their long-term plans are not to include social wellbeing. “I think that’s totally incredible,” she says. “How can you have a vibrant community, a high level of social wellbeing if there is nothing there to support it?” A good question. Is that a challenge to government or a challenge to us as a sector and how we organise ourselves? Perhaps that question is the golden thread that now binds us?