TypeAgencyParallel NameWellington Night Shelter TrustOther NamesUnited Social Services Shelter Committee IncorporatedDate Range1969-2020DescriptionThe Wellington Night Shelter was a Wellington based charity that provided accommodation and support to men experiencing homelessness in Wellington giving them a safe place to stay.
The City Mission purchased a Taranaki Street property in 1931 during the depression, refitting it and opening it as a shelter for unemployed men and youths with no home.
The night shelter had been open since 1969, established by City Missioner. It was originally registered as the United Social Services Shelter Committee (Inc), which was incorporated on the 25 August 1966. The Committee was made up of Wellington social services agencies: Wellington City Mission; Catholic Social Services; Presbyterian Support Services; Wesley Social Services; Salvation Army; St Vincent de Paul Society; The Wellington RSA; Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society; and a representative of the Department of Justice. The Society went into liquidation in 1997 and was reconstituted as a Charitable Trust in order to more clearly represent the ownership of the shelter..
The Wellington Night Shelter was registered as a Charitable Trust on the 16 July 1997.
The accommodation included dormitory style accommodation (including shower and laundry facilities), hostel room accommodation and community support.
During Covid-19, the City Mission took on the Night Shelter on an interim basis which became a permanent arrangement soon after when the Night Shelter Trust Board ceased it's operations.
In 2020 The City Mission took over the charity's services and was gifted the building by the trust, with the aim of ending rough sleeping in Wellington.
Series
Wellington Night Shelter. Archives Online, accessed 01/05/2026, https://archivesonline.wcc.govt.nz/nodes/view/938837
