#49 - Murray Edridge - Unshakably good - turning philosophy into government policy.

In this episode, we meet Murray Edridge, Wellington City Missioner and the ordained Anglican priest — Baptist by whakapapa, he'll tell you — who has spent eight years walking alongside some of Wellington's most vulnerable people. Murray came to the Mission almost by accident, turning down the role before accepting it, and has since grown it into an organisation of 275 staff operating across six facilities in the Wellington region. In this episode, Murray talks about what it really means to believe that every person is unshakably good — and how that single idea shapes everything from the Mission's housing philosophy to the way staff respond when someone behaves badly. He talks about the homelessness coordination collective he helped build with Downtown Community Ministries and Hei Ringakura, why he refuses to respond to government tenders, and why he is deeply anxious about move-on orders. He also talks about Dennis — a man who came through the Mission on a very hard road and now works there as a peer support person, one of their best. And he makes the case that if we want to solve homelessness in New Zealand, we need to start not with housing policy, but with the first thirty months of a child's life.We'd like to thank Murray for taking the time to speak with us for this episode.And don't forget to subscribe to the CHA Hub Podcast — wherever you get your podcasts from.The CHA Hub Podcast is sponsored by our Founding Partner, Westpac New Zealand.