Hamilton Salvation Army’s social services on the move.

The Salvation Army is moving its community welfare complex in Melville to the central business district as part of a major upgrade of its social services city-wide.

Hamilton Community Ministries – better known as The Nest – has been located on Kahikatea Drive for 27 years, and has developed into one of the largest non-governmental providers of social services in the region. It has 16,000 families on its books.

Demolition work is underway at The Salvation Army’s Hamilton City Corps complex on London Street to make way for a purpose-built home for The Nest’s full range of social services. It is expected to open by March next year.

The London Street complex will house the city’s largest food bank, counselling for families and individual children and adults, budgeting services, a men’s anger management programme, advocacy services and parenting and life skills programmes. It will also provide Family Court and Children Youth and Family-ordered supervised contact for parents and their children.

The Nest will administer its foster care home and supported accommodation units for families and single mothers from the new site.

The early childhood education centre, which is currently located at the Melville site, will move to a new home in Grandview, which is under construction.

The Nest’s Melville property was sold to Braemar Hospital in 2008 but The Nest has continued to operate there under a lease that expires next year.

The shift and refurbishments are being funded by proceeds of the sale of the Melville property and out of The Salvation Army’s capital expenditure fund.

Salvation Army Midland Divisional Commander Major Andy Westrupp says the project will bring greater cohesion and efficiencies to The Salvation Army’s social services in the city.

The move will bring the community and worship services offered by the Hamilton City Corps and the community services offered by The Nest onto one site, thereby providing opportunities for greater cooperation and service to the people of Hamilton.

The Nest’s Director Major Pam Waugh says her staff are talking with the communities they work within to ensure relationships are maintained during the move.