Te Tuinga Whanau Trust is opening a new office, relocating social workers previously in Greerton to beside their main office on The Strand.

The trust's operations manager Corey Wanakore says the building was last used for social housing, before going under the transformation in December last year.

"We had some people located there for social housing, but they were causing a bit of trouble in the surrounding area. By turning this into an office we are able to relocate social workers and bring them to more central Tauranga, giving them the opportunity to help more people."

Corey says the building will also help the trust offer better services, and have more of a "solid footprint" in the area, so people will know where to go to get help.

Reon Tuanau led the whakamānawa (blessing) of the new building. Photo: Taylor Rice/SunLive.

"It's going to help us further achieve our goal of helping as many people as we can," says Corey.

The building began the process of transforming into an office in December 2022. A social worker at Te Tuinga Whanau tells SunLive "a lot of mahi" has been put into the project.

"There was a bit of work to do, but now it's done it is much closer to our whare waiora building."

Te Tuinga Whanau is a support services trust which has "weaved families together" for more than 35 years.

The website says people "off all ethnicity" are welcome to call in, enquire about professional mentoring, advice, advocacy and long-term social support, as well as transitional housing options.

For more information on Te Tuinga Whanau and their mission, visit their website, https://www.ttw.org.nz/.