Congratulations to Rev Dennis Povey, who was awarded Life Membership of Presbyterian Support Otago at the Annual General Meeting this week. Dennis was presented his Life Membership award by Board Chairman David Richardson.
His citation reads:
Dennis has had a long association with Presbyterian Support, beginning with a Board role in the Central Region.
He took up the newly established Community Mission Director position in 2001. During his time in that role he oversaw the detailed research into poverty and its impact on Presbyterian Support Otago clients. This was followed by research into the state of low income housing in Dunedin.
These publications ‘How Much is Enough’ and ‘Old, Cold and Costly’ along with subsequent reports on Older Persons Housing, Poverty and Housing have been used regularly by University of Otago social work department and quoted often by local government officials.
Retiring form the Community Mission Director role in 2007 Dennis returned as Archivist, overhauling our archives and overseeing further research.
He has also been the driving force behind the establishment of social housing through the Just Housing Trust, that now comes under Presbyterian Support Otago’s oversight.
His mere presence in the workplace meant provision of an informal chaplaincy service and he provided advice on the community mission direction of Presbyterian Support Otago.