About Us 

In 1992 after a number of people in the Buller community put a proposal together to provide support services to children and families and made application to the Ministry of Social Welfare; a contract was awarded to the Buller Community Development Company (BCDC) and funds received to set up a non government organisation.

Homebuilders Child and Family Support Service began a social work service to children and families in the Buller in November 1992, under the umbrella of the BCDC.

Over the period 1992 to 2003 the service added respite care for children, family counselling and parenting programmes while continuing to provide effective social work and support services to children and families, from BCDC offices in Palmerston Street initially, then from 141 Derby Street in Westport.

In August 2003 Homebuilders West Coast Trust was established with a voluntary board of trustees and became a registered trust with the Charities Commission - CC21182. In 2004 Homebuilders West Coast Trust moved to 52 Mill Street in Westport. In 2007 we opened an office at 24 Guinness Street in Greymouth.

From 2003 to 2010 the following services were contracted:

• Social Workers in Schools – Westport and Greymouth;
• Big Brother Big Sisters Youth Mentoring programme;
• Te Rito Family Violence;
• Strengthening Families;
• Child Advocate for Children who Witness or Experience Family Violence;
• Independent Youth Benefit Assessment.

Today Homebuilders West Coast Trust has 17 paid staff; 32 caregivers for children; 26 mentor/mentee matches; five board of trustee members; two approved volunteers; seven contracted counsellors; four contracted programme facilitators servicing up to 170 client families at any one time. There are 55 agencies/organisations/individuals on the Buller Family Violence Network database.

Homebuilders West Coast Trust mission statement is

Together we strengthen the wellbeing of children, families and the community
E whakakaha ana tātau i te oranga o ngā tamariki, o ngā whānau, o te iwi whānui katoa

Homebuilders West Coast Trust provides the opportunity for a unique workplace culture with integrity, encompassing the following values:

• Honesty - means having respect for others and being open with what we do
• Commitment/Reliability - means being where and when you are needed
• Respect - means we acknowledge and look after ourselves, each other and our resources
• Team Relationships - means we support each other and work together to achieve the organisation mission
• Diversity With Ethical Responsibility - means we acknowledge and support people in a professional manner respecting their diversity and culture

The Homebuilders Way is our day to day guide that enhances our workplace culture to encourage us all to be the best we can be.

At Homebuilders, professional development, supervision, results based accountability, strengths based practice with clients and within the team is a requirement.

We have a planning day each year to focus on the needs of our communities and the growth and development of the organisation. We have a great annual plan that we review every 90 days; we have a 3 – 5 year strategic plan with solid achievable goals and we have a 10 year vision for our organisation.

Homebuilders West Coast Trust recently entered into a High Trust Contract with the Ministry of Social Development. This contract encompasses our 11 contracts into one, incorporating a risk management plan, stakeholder management plan and relationship plan.

We have recently implemented results based accountability; we are in the process of building a database and this website.

Exciting times …