Compassion Centre - The Soup Kitchen 2010

Dietitian

Dietitian Intern, Emma Nicholls, has joined the Soup Kitchen team on a short-term basis.

As a student, Emma completed a research project looking at the nutritional composition of the evening meal and the dietary intake of a sample of Soup Kitchen guests. Key findings from this research project were:

The evening meal provides optimum nutrition of 50% of recommended daily intake for most nutrients and an acceptable number of servings of most food groups
Participants are nutritionally vulnerable and have poor dietary intakes, particularly when not eating at the Soup Kitchen
A high proportion of participants are heavily dependent on the Soup Kitchen to provide most of their daily dietary intake.

The results have allowed us to develop some food-based standards for the evening meals to ensure optimum nutrition for our guests.

Having completed her research, Emma is now working with Paul and the kitchen team on some projects that will enhance the foodservice and provide support and education to guests.

“I am enjoying working with the team at the Soup Kitchen”, says Emma. “It’s a great opportunity to support a foodservice organisation which is helping those on the margins. The Soup Kitchen is already doing a fantastic job providing nutritious and varied meals. The projects are about further improving foodservice and enabling guests to take greater responsibility for their nutritional needs through education.”

Matariki

The gloom of Winter was lifted a little on Friday 18 June with a special celebration of Matariki for Soup Kitchen guests. Several weeks of planning by staff and guests culminated in a hangi-style meal for 130 guests with live music at the Aro Community Centre.

Paul and the kitchen team prepared the food off site and it was transported to the Community Centre for serving. A great team of volunteers helped on the night and it all went very smoothly.

“Aro Valley Community Centre were really supportive of the celebration and it was wonderful to be somewhere different for a change and for there to be room for guests to all sit down together and share the special meal,” says Soup Kitchen manager, Philippa Meachen.

Working with guests to plan the event was a great process and there was a lot of enthusiasm and support for the celebration. On the day, guests helped decorate and prepare the Community Centre and helped afterwards with the clean-up.

The wider community and City Council were also very supportive of the event and there is already talk amongst guests about organising something similar in the future.

Music Therapy

Sister Cabrini has been running her Music Therapy Group for the guests each Wednesday afternoon before the evening meal. She feels has made a difference for some of the men because it acts as a health care measure for those who are downhearted.

Therapy for the Soul
“Music is relaxing and spiritual,” Sister Cabrini says. “In music there is spirit, and it’s international, it crosses all cultures. Everybody can understand it.”

The assessment of the guests, before the actual music begins, is a crucial part of the session. Sr Cabrini asks guests questions about favourite music and what they like to hear, and tries to find the overall mood of the room.

“You can’t just go in and play whatever you want. You have to listen.” Sometimes the guests are a bit depressed so Sr Cabrini will just sit and chat with them, allowing them to relax. When she sits with them, she is trying to “find that one positive word” in their speech. Often, from this one positive word she builds her music therapy session.

Sing a Simple Song
Sister Cabrini’s first job in a session is to find a song that is appropriate for the occasion. She often encourages the guests to sing the prayers which she chooses for the session as this loosens the guests up a bit.

The session usually consists of Sister Cabrini playing guitar while the guests sing along, but recently she has started to give out instruments for the guests to play, which has helped liven up the sessions.

As in life the most important thing music therapy, is to listen. Sister Cabrini’s monthly sessions with the guests lift their spirits and help them to work together to create music. The best part is that guests are getting the opportunity to experience some of the positive social aspects and mood enhancing effects that music therapy can offer while doing it in the safety of the Compassion Centre.

Chatting with the Guys on the Street

Besides running music therapy sessions for the guests at the Compassion Centre, Sister Cabrini also goes weekly to chats with guests on the street.

She normally goes to Newtown or Cuba Mall in the city. Quite often guests will recognise her and are eager to strike up a conversation.

Listen and learn:
Talking with the guests on the street is a great opportunity to really sit and listen to them one-on-one. Sr Cabrini feels that because people who are homeless or mentally ill don’t get listened to very often, just sitting with them and listening to them can be very calming and helpful.

Meeting guests on the street gives them the time and space to just tell their story or speak about what is on their mind. Sr Cabrini finds it is a great opportunity to learn more about those whom she serves.

Laughter lightens the mood:
When speaking with the guests on the street Sister Cabrini often finds that the men or women can be depressed so she tries to keep things light. She finds it is very important to have a sense of humour around the guests and tries to laugh with them.

An improved outlook:
The benefit of chatting with the guests on the street is that they get a feeling that they are cared for by the people at the Compassion Centre. It gives guests the sense that our intention is not to just give them a meal and send them on their way.

Ultimately chatting with the guests on the street builds a stronger relationship between the guests and staff at the Compassion Centre.

Food Day Appeal 2010

On the 15th of May we had a very successful time collecting for our annual Food Day Appeal and have managed to significantly replenish the contents of our dry store. Volunteers from the Soup Kitchen were stationed outside New World Island Bay and were given items such as eggs, pasta and a variety of canned goods.

The Children Are Our Future:

Sister Catherine remarked that it was beautiful to see parents with small children encouraging them to place items in the collection bin. Parents are trying to instil values of charity and compassion in their children. Sr Catherine was also touched by the generosity of the community, in spite of the recent economic downturn. It is heartening to find people so supportive of others, when their own circumstances can be very difficult.

Thanks

We are grateful to those volunteers who took shifts standing outside the supermarket, to benefactors who gave food, and especially to Tim and Anna Carmichael who allowed us to collect at their supermarket. A special mention should also go to Newstalk ZB who sponsors the event for food-banks in the Wellington area.

Refugee Support Work

Sister Lusiana, is a volunteer with Refugee Services in Wellington. Refugee Services support new refugees who come to New Zealand and give help to aid their resettlement.

It’s a Family Affair:
Currently, Sister Lusiana is helping two families: one from Burma, and the other from Ethiopia. She visits them to see how they are getting on and provides support, such as driving them to appointments and helping source household items. Taking the time to talk to the families to find out how they adjusting to life in their new country is really important.

That’s What I’m Talking About…..right?
One of the biggest problems for refugees is communication. Sister Lusiana is able to give love and empathy towards them as she has experienced that herself, having immigrated to New Zealand from Niue and having spent time in Tonga and Australia. “That is a big difficulty,” she says, “They find it hard to settle down and get comfortable because of the language barriers, the cultural differences and also the different weather.”

There is a great new exhibit at Te Papa about refugees called The Mixing Room