News

Paint the Town Purple: Turning Awareness into Action

WOW. What a vibrant, inspiring, and overwhelmingly purple July it has been across the Mid-South Island!

Following the launch of our new identity as HAVEN Mid-South, we embraced an inspiring concept developed by one of our staff, “Airing Your Dirty Laundry.” At its heart was a powerful message: family violence can happen to anyone—it does not discriminate, it does not belong to one particular community or circumstance, and it is happening all around us. We wanted to take that message beyond the walls of our organisation and into the heart of our communities.

And so, we set an ambitious goal for our annual appeal month: to Paint the Town Purple.

Our vision was simple but powerful—to make family violence visible, encourage conversations, challenge the stigma and silence that can surround it, and ensure that whānau know that support is available. Most importantly, we wanted our communities to stand together and say that family violence is everyone’s concern, and everyone has a part to play in creating safer families and communities.

From a Local Seed to a Nationwide Movement

What makes this year’s campaign particularly special is how far this idea has travelled.

Paint the Town Purple began here at HAVEN Mid-South as a local initiative, but its message was too important to stay local. After seeing the impact of the campaign in our communities last year, other Women’s Refuge services across Aotearoa embraced the concept and brought Paint the Town Purple to their own towns and communities.

To see an idea born here at HAVEN Mid-South grow into a movement reaching communities across the country is something we are incredibly proud of. It demonstrates what is possible when a simple idea, a passionate team, and a community committed to change come together.

And here at home, our community truly embraced the challenge for our second year. Businesses, community groups, schools, organisations, whānau, and individuals all played their part. Our streets came alive with purple window displays, purple-clad pets, community morning teas, fundraising activities, and even an iconic local landmark transformed in purple.

Every purple display, every conversation, every donation, and every act of support helped shine a light on an issue that too often remains hidden behind closed doors.

Celebrating Our 2026 Competition Winners!

(Note: We took a little extra time following the end of July to release this update so our team could personally contact and celebrate all of our competition winners behind the scenes first! Thank you for your patience—we are thrilled to officially share the results with you all.)

Choosing our winners was no easy task with so many creative and passionate entries across the region! A massive congratulations to our official Paint the Town Purple competition winners:

Timaru Area

Honour Award For Extraordinary Effort Dressing Up: Barrys Food Bank

Third place: Pet Central
Second Place: St Vincent De Paul
First Place: Collective Dreams

Ashburton Area

First Place: Mid-Canterbury Community Trust

Oamaru Area:

First Place: Oamaru Kindergarten Association

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos, decorated their spaces, and got creative for the cause!

Celebrating Our Community Champions

We are endlessly grateful to every partner who stepped up, hosted collection buckets, raised funds, and helped share HAVEN’s message throughout July:

Westpac NZ: Stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our team on the streets of Timaru for our street appeal.

Ranger Specialist Coatings: Made a bold statement by painting the iconic Timaru Piazza Chair bright purple for domestic violence awareness!

Pet Central Timaru: Created a massive purple balloon arch in their store window alongside a collection bucket.

Barry’s Food Bank: Dressed up Barry the dog in purple wings and glasses to join the fun!

Community House Mid Canterbury: Hosted a foyer display, placed a donation box at reception, and ran a week-long gold coin morning tea with purple cupcakes.

Pasifika O Aoraki Services: Decorated their office in purple and rocked purple leis to raise awareness and support whānau.

Timaru Booksellers: Created a “Paint the Town Purple” window display, hosted a bucket, and shared a video tour with Jess.

Aidan Theatre Company: Promoted HAVEN and hosted donation buckets during their season of Sense & Sensibility.

Gabites Appliance Services LTD & Just Eat Cake: Transformed their shopfront with purple balloons and tassels to spread HAVEN’s message and hosted a collection bucket.

Ara South Canterbury & Sidekick Timaru: Brought staff, students, and teams together over purple-themed morning teas.

Presbyterian Support South Canterbury (Family Works): Dressed in purple, decorated their hallways, and hosted a fundraising morning tea.

Timaru District Libraries: Hosted dedicated HAVEN information stands with brochures and QR codes all month long.

Collective Dreams: Designed a beautiful purple window display and hosted a collection bucket.

Hobby Lords Timaru, Fellow & Fox Timaru, & Acquisitions (Timaru): Placed collection buckets in store, with Hobby Lords nestling theirs right by their Pokémon gear!

Alpine Energy Staff: Met with our team to show their support and make a generous direct donation.

Ashburton Guardian: Amplified our voice in local media, featuring a story with Anna from Safer Families and Jen from HAVEN.

(And many more to add on our Facebook page and website!)

Why Your Support Matters

Every purple balloon hung and every coin dropped into a collection bucket directly funds HAVEN Mid-South’s ongoing mission. Your generosity allows us to continue providing safe emergency accommodation, 24/7 crisis support, advocacy, and education programs for whānau in need across our region.

To everyone who decorated, donated, volunteered, or started a conversation: thank you. July may be over, but together, we are making our community safer, stronger, and brighter.

Need support or want to get involved? HAVEN Mid-South provides free, confidential support for anyone experiencing family or sexual harm.