Home in Time for Christmas
17th of November, 2025
It has been a long four months, but Aviva's new premises are officially open and ready to welcome whai ora, supporters, and the community to our new space at Amuri Park (Unit 4, 25 Churchill St). Just in time for our annual Christmas gift campaign.
In July 2025, Aviva embarked on a new chapter: a move to our next “forever” home. Our base at The Loft supported our mahi for over nine years. During that time, our services expanded significantly, and staff numbers nearly doubled. It was time for a new space that fits the future of our mahi. The journey towards being settled in our space took a little longer than anticipated, but it was worth the wait, to be able to have our first Christmas in our new home.
It was hard to say goodbye to The Loft. As founding partners, we have witnessed its growth and development and seen how it has become a vital local service, community hub, place of safety and a thriving workplace. While Aviva now operates from a new space, we continue to partner with the Loft’s Social Emergency Response Service, to ensure the best outcomes for our whai ora.
Our lease at the Loft ended in June, but our new space wasn’t quite ready yet. In a move reminiscent of 2020, our kaimahi moved to remote work and continued to support whai ora, as we worked to prepare the space.
We originally planned to move in August, but this was pushed back to early November. Although there were some consenting delays along the way, the main reason for the longer timeframe was to ensure the new premises were truly fit for purpose. Now we are in, it’s clear that the extra time and care taken will benefit the people we serve for many years to come.
Our new building was fully refurbished and customised to allow us to deliver support in a way that is safe, dignified and responsive.
A welcoming, secure, and easy-to-navigate space is essential for reducing barriers to access, especially for those in crisis, and disabled, neurodiverse, or otherwise marginalised people. All groups that experience higher rates of violence than the average population.
“When I made contact with Aviva, I was so nervous as my self-confidence was zero. I remember going to the offices and tripping up the stairs with nerves. I nearly burst into tears before I got to reception I saw this lovely lady. She was comforting and made me feel like a person. She also never judged my situation, which started to give me hope that there are good people out there wanting to help.” – Maria, Aviva client
Clinical environments can feel intimidating or unsafe; our vision is for a calm and reassuring space that fosters healing and connection. Comfortable, child-friendly furnishings help reduce anxiety, build trust, and support meaningful engagement –. A non-clinical setting signals safety, making it easier for children and young people to open up and connect.
Our new home features a whānau space will be used by adults accessing family violence support who have children with them, and for directly engaging 1:1 with children and young people.
A larger meeting space will be where we deliver our life-changing family violence education programmes – Courageous Steps, Tamariki RISE, Seuga, and Aoraki Rōpū. It is also ideal for hosting sector hui and could be available for others when not in use for our education programmes. While we are no longer at The Loft, we continue to value its principles of partnership, inclusivity and community.
Our new premises are full of natural light, have access to green space, and provide quiet or private areas for our kaimahi to help them function at their best.
Te Ao Māori and Pasifika influences are included in design, signage, and naming of spaces.
We are so grateful for all the community support we’ve received for this endeavour, from local government and Members of Parliament, partner organisations like Te Whare Hauora, SHINE, and START, and community advocacy groups such as She Is Not Your Rehab, funders - Kelliher Charitable Trust, Kiwi Gaming Trust, the Lion Foundation, DIA Lottery Grants Board.
But most of all the whai ora and kaimahi, who have been so patient and understanding during this process.
Haere mai. Welcome everyone.
