Mass was celebrated despite the $2.6 million project not yet being complete.

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South Dunedin is the most deprived area in Otago, according to the latest Socioeconomic Deprivation Index,

"Meaningful work that gives people a decent income to meet their basic needs ... that's what needs to be continuously looked at,"Donnelly said.

About one-third of the South Dunedin-based social services agency's clients came from the area and while they faced "a range of issues", many of them related to a lack of meaningful work.

"There is low income [in South Dunedin] and people always struggle if they haven't got enough to meet their basic needs and that's what we find.

"People here are doing their very best to cover their rent and basic costs, feeding their kids and clothing their kids, but there isn't enough."

While he did not know where the jobs could come from, "some investment in the South Dunedin area ... would help to get things moving", he said.

"We are helping people to cope, but it's not always going to solve the problem."

The 2013 Socioeconomic Deprivation Index was calculated using census data

Areas such as South Dunedin and Caledonian, which were among the most deprived 10% of areas in New Zealand, had been there since the first index was produced after the 1991 census.
Source

• Otago Daily Times
• Otago Daily Times
• Image: Otago Daily Times