Island Child Charitable Trust

Having a child enabled her to access state housing and gave her the anchor she needed to start healing and plan her future. Through Danielle’s own experience of homelessness, she learnt that people become homeless for various reasons but what they most need is a genuine loving response and individual support to move through the crisis. Once she got herself set up it was then Danielle’s dream to help others overcome homelessness in the same way that she did. Danielle then went on to establish and now manage Island Child Charitable Trust, this shelter is her life work and she gives all her time and effort towards it. In 2008 Island Charitable Trust established a base in Tamaki and then quickly learnt the need for homeless support among Maori and Island families in our community. Working on the frontline of homelessness challenged the Trust to act to raise public awareness of the issues and influence government policy and processes. In the early days Danielle called the media to raise concerns but as they developed more of a public profile the media began to call them.