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Wellington Curtain Bank Is At Risk And Many Families May Suffer As A Result

The Wellington Curtain Bank is struggling to fulfil the 170 orders for free curtains it has, leaving many vulnerable families feeling the cold this winter.

"We received a huge spike in orders for curtains during the lockdown as families spent more time indoors," says Curtain Bank Coordinator, Amanda Ashby. 

"In many of the orders we received, people talked about how they cold their homes felt - which is normal for June/July but these were orders from March/April. It felt like people were noticing how cold their homes really were" said Ashby.

"One woman said that her home was so cold and draughty that she had towels on the widows and blankets on the floor. She was pregnant with baby number three on the way. Her story just broke my heart" said Ashby. 

The World Health Organisation recommends a minimum temperature of 18c, yet a 2018 Statistics NZ found that up to a third of houses were too cold in the winter. According to David Pierce, Home Assessor at Sustainability Trust this is a real problem. 

"When people are living in cold, damp, over-crowded houses it can result in serious health problems. With temperatures below 16c respiratory systems can be weakened, and in temperatures below 12c the cardiovascular system may be impaired" he said.

The Wellington Curtain Bank has provided more than 17,000 sets of curtains to more than 5,000 homes since it started in 2010.

"We’ve been providing free curtains for ten years so we know that the demand is there. It would be absolutely devastating if we couldn’t fulfil the orders we have" said Community Manager, Susie Robertson.

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If you have mould free, long, curtains or large rolls of thick fabric - please consider donating them to the Wellington Curtain Bank. 

The Wellington Curtain Bank is made possible with more than ten years of support from Genesis Energy.

Extra info: 

Wellington Curtain Bank is a free service that relies on donations of curtains and fabric to make new curtains for homes in need. 

Since it started in 2010 it has kept 75 tonnes of textile waste out of the landfill. 

Every year, 20 plus volunteers donate about $70,000 worth of time to sorting, cutting, lining and sewing curtains for families in need.

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