OUR TEAM
Meet our team of dedicated staff. Together they have a wealth of knowledge, and are here to offer sound advice and a helping hand to the Kaikōura community.
Lyn Kirton
Te Whare Putea
Manager
Lyn Kirton is the Manager for Te Whare Putea Trust in Kaikoura which provides foodbank, emergency housing and Heartlands Services.
Lyn has an extensive background working in Social Services and Human Resources. Lyn has a level 6 Diploma in Supported Employment and has achieved great outcomes for her clients while working within Charitable Organisations, in a career spanning 26 years.
Lyn is happily married and has four independent children and seven grandchildren whom she loves and enjoys being part of their development and life journey. Her recreation time is spent with her husband either fishing or travelling and she loves to cook and relax with a good movie.
In this profile (below) from Te Papa Hou (Support for New Zealand Financial Mentors), Lyn talks about how she uses Te Papa Hou in her daily work. The north Canterbury town of Kaikoura is a bustling tourist resort but as Lyn reveals, it also experiences significant housing issues.
What was your background before becoming a financial mentor?
My background has been 26 years in social services. I have a Level 6 Diploma in Supported Employment. I spent 18 of those years setting up trusts and providing supported employment services. I did business mentoring for Canterbury Development Corporation and was an employment coordinator at Work and Income.
I have been a financial mentor for Te Whare Putea for eight years and the work is very challenging but very rewarding. This role has brought amazing success and aptitude.
You work in Kaikoura, a tourist and farming town with a population of about 4000. What are the most common form of issues you deal with?
Here in Kaikoura we are rich and famous for tourism and hospitality, but we are dealing with social economic disadvantages through high rents and shortages of affordable housing. TWP has seven units which we provide to those who have been homeless or cannot afford to pay higher rents in the open market. We are isolated so people have high travel costs for medical treatments. Employment is very seasonal which places us in a position for benefit dependencies and escalating drug use.
How do you use Te Papa Hou in your daily work?
Te Papa Hou is resourceful in our daily roles to obtain information quickly from external stakeholders such as government departments, lenders, debt collectors and banks. I also use it to access the Pānui, Commerce Commission updates, advertising for staff, and to have discussions on the forum.
What aspect of Te Papa Hou would you suggest to mentors who may not be familiar with what the portal provides?
TPH is a great resource for financial mentors, especially the templates. TPH is also excellent for providing consistency to financial mentors and for training. Mentors can register for Communities of Practice, share ideas and success stories and are able to communicate and stay up to date with necessary information and changes.
Rosie Clemett
Social Work Support
Community Prevention
Rosie is a Kaikōura local lady who is passionate about the Kaikōura Community. She is a mother of 2 school aged children and she loves to be active within the community.
Rosie is involved in various community groups. She is the Kaikōura Runanga Representative and a Trustee Member for the Kaikōura Community Swimming Pool.
Rosie is a keen netballer and has been part of the committee for the past 5 years. In those 5 years she has been President, Coach and Manager of various teams, Umpire and Player.
Rosie is highly motivated and a hardworking individual who loves a challenge. She has a friendly and energetic attitude which makes her an asset to Te Whare Putea. Rosie is in the early stages of building a career in Social Services and her long-term goal is to become a fully qualified Social Worker.
Rosie has been working for Te Whare Putea since November 2019 as Foodbank and Housing Support co-ordinator.
Kapri Martin
Heartland Services Co-ordinator
Te Whare Putea Compliance and Health and Safety
Kapri joined the Te Whare Putea team in October 2022 and in 2023 moved into the Heartland services co-ordinator role. She has spent many years working alongside people in all walks of life. Her background is in teaching, instructing, tourism and hospitality, these experiences highlight her friendly and approachable manner. Her enthusiasm, logical thinking and warm people skills are an asset to Te Whare Putea and Heartland Services.
Kapri has spent a lot of her life travelling the world. After spending more than 15 years overseas exploring mountains and having adventures, mostly in Canada, Japan and Switzerland, Kapri decided it was time to come back to her home country of New Zealand.
The magnificent outdoor playground attracted her to Kaikōura, as it is all of her passions combined into one picturesque location. Living in Kaikōura provides an abundance of opportunities: mountain biking, hiking, fishing, swimming, skiing, camping, surfing, and more, that nestle on its beautiful doorstep.
She is well involved in the local community, is a trustee for the Kaikōura Ocean Research Institute, volunteers at the Kaikōura Community Garden and is an executive member of the Kaikōura Volleyball Club. She enjoys meeting people and helping others, and feels it is such a privilege to contribute back to our community.
Ruth grew up in Kaikōura and after being away for a number of years has taken on the role as Financial Mentor at Te Whare Putea (she takes over this role from Lyn Kirton who has stepped into the Manager role).
Ruth has several years experience working in the public sector, including time in Inland Revenue and Work and Income. During this time Ruth also assisted people after the Christchurch Earthquakes, helping people receive the support and assistance they required. She holds a diploma in life coaching and a diploma in web development and deign. Ruth is passionate about achieving great outcomes for her clients and has an empathetic and friendly nature.
Ruth is looking forward to stepping back into the Kaikōura community. She enjoys getting outdoors for a walk, reading and learning new things.
Jenny is another local lady, who has an extensive knowledge of the Kaikōura community. She is born and bred in Kaikōura and has a background in retail, customer service, accounts and hospitality. Jenny worked for several years as a teacher’s aide while her own children were at school, and has previously worked for Te Whare Putea.
From 2004 to 2010 Jenny was employed as Manager/Heartlands co-ordinator, before she left to manage their family business accounts. She was thrilled when the opportunity came along to own and operate her own souvenir retail store in the Kaikōura township, and she enjoyed this until the earthquake and then Covid 19 made things challenging.
Jenny is pleased to take up the opportunity to work for Te Whare Putea again and to work with the community again.
She is Married with a grown family and grandchildren. Jenny has strong connections in the community with various community groups. Jenny loves her garden and the outdoors.
Jenny will be managing our Food Bank services and will be sharing the role as Heartlands co-ordinator with Deb Posa.
Jenny is empathetic and compassionate. She has a real heart for our community and will work hard to see it thriving and progressing in a positive way.
Deb Posa
Food Bank Co-ordinator
Deb Posa is a caring and passionate Foodbank Coordinator who brings genuine empathy and understanding to her role. Having “walked the walk” herself, she understands the challenges many individuals and whānau face when trying to put food on the table, and she approaches her work with compassion, dignity, and respect.
Her professional background includes working with IHC/CCS supporting people with disabilities, as well as time at Kaikōura Hospital as a Healthcare Assistant/Cook. This experience, combined with her love of budget-friendly cooking, enables her to support foodbank clients with practical ideas and encouragement around making the most of available food.
Having lived in the Kaikōura community for many years, Deb has a strong connection to local people and services and has provided ongoing support to individuals and families across the district. She is well-known for her commitment, kindness, and dedication to ensuring people feel supported, understood, and valued.
Te Whare Putea Board Members
Hariata Kahu - Chairperson
Riria Allen
Jess Mill
Robert Roche
Robby (Ngāti Raukawa, Tainui) ...has been based in Kaikōura for 28 years. For the past 5 years, he has been working as a clinician for RISE and is excited to be able to expand his mahi for Hikitia! RISE’s ACC funded prevention mahi as Community Mobiliser. Robby brings value to Te Whare Putea Trust as a Board Member and is well known in Kaikōura where he was previously an elected councillor. He has an in-depth background from his variety of community social service roles such as youth supervisor and was the Wellbeing and Rehabilitation Advisor to the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery project (NCTIR), after the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. Robby is involved in several men’s support groups and enjoys one-on-one mentoring roles. He and his wife Jen, born in Kaikōura, and their five adult children and grandchildren call Kaikōura home. In his spare time, he also loves fishing and climbing mountains.
Carol Reardon
Hello! I am a Retired professional Counsellor who has worked in the field of Social Services Smokefree in NZ for over 25 years. Since retiring I enjoy staying connected in my community by volunteering and being involved in groups that support the people that live here. I am on the Aging Well Kaikoura committee, looking at ways to keep this growing demographic well, & able to stay in our community as they age. I was elected on Te Whare Putea’s Trust Board in October 2025 & I feel I am able to provide good supports & look forward to utilizing my talents and skills as a volunteer in my board role for the growth of the Trust and our Community. I married my school sweetheart Jeff & we both still love walking, gardening & socializing & travel times with friends.
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Marion McChesney