Christchurch's Mayor's Welfare Fund has paid more than $200,000 to assist people with dental and electricity payments as the cost of living bites.
By Rachel Graham of RNZ
Those numbers have nearly doubled from the year prior.
Councillor Yani Johanson, the chair of the advisory fund committee, said the fund has paid out $122,474 for dental work so far in 2026, with a maximum of $2000 given out to any individual.
Dental expenses were previously counted as part of the medical category, but this year the fund had dental as a separate category due to the high number of requests.
"There is a huge need - the tragedy is of course that the more people don't go to the dentist, the longer they leave it, the higher the cost for treatment," Johanson said.
Poor dental health had a huge impact on a person's quality of life, self-esteem and health, he said.
"It's a damning indictment on our society and country that we have such huge need because it has become completely unaffordable for so many people and that's why we are seeing such an increase in demand," Johanson said.
The medical category accounted for $55,702 last year, including dental.
Requests for help with electricity bills had also jumped, with the fund paying out $109,599 so far this year, compared with $58,000 last year and $38,000 in 2024.
"Power prices are just going up and up and up, and people's income is just not meeting the cost of living. So we are seeing a significant increase in requests for help," Johanson said.
The Christchurch City Council's Mayor's Welfare Fund started as the Mayor's Coal and Blanket Fund in 1897 and was renamed in 1973.
In 1992 the Mayor's Welfare Fund Charitable Trust was created to administer the fund.
Johanson said the city has a proud tradition of helping those most in need.
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"It's a fund of last resort to help people when there is no other option for funding to meet the basics that are needed to provide for their well-being."
The fund covers specific categories, and applications are assessed by an administrator on a case-by-case basis.
Items covered include electricity and rent arrears, firewood, medical costs, childcare arrears and funeral costs.
In the past year requests for help with child and adult learning assessments were added to the eligible criteria.
The fund gave out $54,876 for adult assessments and $39,936 for child assessments so far in 2026.
In the past year the fund received 702 applications with 447 approved, 98 declined, 129 withdrawn and 28 yet to be decided.
Johanson said the number of applications to the fund had increased hugely, as had the amount of money given out.
The fund is likely to pay $700,000 in grants by the end of this year compared with $371,000 last year.
Councillors had agreed to pay their directors' fees to the fund.
However, $700,000 was more than the income the fund had coming in, so they would need to find a way to balance the demand and the need in the future, Johanson said.
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