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CHATTERS July 2022

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CHATTERSA publication of Crossroads ClubhouseINSIDE SCOOP!-Clubhouse Kitchen-Pink Shirt Day Celebrations-Friday Karaoke-Social Recreation-Twilight Dinner-Mindful Monday's -New Students-Bootcamp-Arahura Day and more!

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EDITORIAL Wow! Where has the last seven months gone? We'realready half way through our year. We moved from Grey Lynn to Onehunga with ustrying to transition from the old clubhouse through apandemic but managed to get there in the end. Covid-19 still lurks out there and these days it’s a hit or miss ifyou catch Covid-19. My family caught Covid-19 last year,which sent us into isolation for 14 days, and throughthe whole duration, I was lucky enough not catch it. The winter months are upon us now, but luckily, forus we have a heat pump in the new clubhouse, whichkeeps us warm and cozy! This is the beginning of a new era for CrossroadsClubhouse. A completely new community for us toexplore. Naku noa,— Nadz. The opinions expressed in Chatters are not necessarily those of Crossroads Clubhouse,Arahura Trust or Auckland District Health Board. We welcome your feedback and arehappy to pass this on the contributors.

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DIRECTOR'S REPORTKia Ora everyone! This issue is all about our transition to the new place and everything thathas been happening at Clubhouse in the last months. We have finally moved to our new Clubhouse! It sure was a big missiontransitioning to our new location especially that Covid-19 lockdown was inplace. However, because of the combined efforts of some members that wentout of their way just to help the staff, it made it easier to finish the job.Our work-ordered day has slightly changed, as we have restructured everythingto suit the new Clubhouse’s needs. It has opened the door for us to do newgroup activities throughout the day and allowed staff to be able to allocatemore time in supporting our members. Something new that we haveintroduced in Clubhouse is our “member for the week”. A way to recognize ourmembers’ efforts and participation in Clubhouse. In line our celebration for Founder’s day together with the opening ofthe new Clubhouse, we held our first ever Arahura Day. We had a lot of memberthat came to this event with our residential service joining us as well. We have also done Pink Shirt day and held a weeklong Matarikicelebration in honor of the Maori New year being a holiday for the first time.We even had our own oven hangi that everybody loved. Our social recreationand twilight dinners are on full swing again. Karaoke Fridays and Kiwi Breakfastis also back together with our friendly food truck Kiwi Harvest that now comeson Mondays. There are heaps of upcoming events for us here at Clubhouse and forthose who haven’t seen the new place yet come on over and see what our newClubhouse has to offer! We look forward to seeing everyone soon. Mickie,Director.

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After 26 years being situated at 393 Great North Road, GreyLynn it was time for Crossroads Clubhouse to find a new home.Our Grey Lynn community has slowly been transformed anddeveloped by real estate tycoons to build new apartments.Nevertheless, finding a new place for our Clubhouse has been inthe pipeline for quite some time but it only had to happen soonerthan we expected. It did not take long when David and I started viewing potentialplaces for our new Clubhouse, and fortunately, we were luckyenough to find “the one”, and it all lead us here at 1 Pearce St.Onehunga. The place is just what we have imagined, with an openfloor plan, a big kitchen, a few office spaces, a huge courtyard andheaps of parking spaces for everyone! As it came closer to the shiftdate, staff and some members started to get the place ready. Shifting to the new place was not an easy mission and having aCovid-19 lockdown in place even made things worse. Moreover, wehad to make things work with two staff needing to isolate due toCovid-19. This is when a few of our members stepped up andhelped us to complete our move to the new Clubhouse. The wholetransition took almost 2 months of hard work, but it was worth itespecially having our members working with us the whole time. Setting up the place was yet another challenge and in theprocess, we had to get more stuff to suit our new Clubhouse. Thisalone took another two weeks before we were able to do our firstsoft opening to our existing members. And on 16 March 2022,marked the first day that Crossroads Clubhouse is back up andrunning again for our members. From then on it still has been aproject in the making with a long term goal of achieving theperfect Clubhouse. THE TRANSITION— By Mickie

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Well, what more can I say but 'bugger'. In our last edition ofChatters I thought that would’ve been our last Covid story butalas... we went back into a lockdown in August of last year. Wesaid goodbye to the level system and said hello to the trafficlight system. There was a new variant introduced namedOmicron. Omicron spread much faster than Delta and wefound to have daily cases reaching 20,000 plus. This timeround I think people were ready for this lockdown so it did notfeel as bad as our first level 4 lockdown. At Crossroads, we still have protocols in place. You still haveto be screened and get your temperature checked. We arecurrently in Orange light and masks still need to be worn inCrossroads. Things are pretty much back to normal apart fromhaving to wear masks and social distancing. Some places stillwant you to wear masks. As I write this we are going into our2nd wave of Covid,,. case numbers are high again as we are inthe middle of winter. We were told that we would not go intolockdown again so fingers crossed this is definitely my laststory on Covid-19. Please keep warm and safe over the colder season,Mauri ora.COVID THE NEVER ENDING SAGA... OMNICRON— By Nadz

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Morning catch-ups happen every morning between 9-9:30am. If youarrive within this half an hour, you are able to grab you a free hot drinkto start your day. We also have some cereals which you can alsopurchase for 50 cents. Our first morning meeting starts at 9:30am, which is then followed byour unit meetings. Our two units have also changed names - 'Heads up'is now 'Administrative' unit, and 'Hands on' is now 'Life Skills' unit. We do not have daily newsletters anymore because as you walk intoCrossroads you will see a TV which has all the most current informationon Crossroads. Hope to see you all at Crossroads real soon. Ma te wa. MORNING CATCH-UPS- By Nadz

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I am Raj. I have beena member of Clubhousefor 12 years. I like thenew Clubhouse, it isvery enjoyable. I likethe cuisine and thenew kitchen. Mark ismaking delicious foodFAN FAVOURITESChicken pasta bakeHoney & garlic chickenChicken adoboPumpkin soupCupcakesHot chocolatePad Thai

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It's been a long tradition for Crossroads Clubhouse to do Kiwi Breakfastfortnightly. Members always look forward to this day as this is also the time tocatch up with some friends, have a small talk, and meet someone new. Thistradition stopped due to the infamous covid-19. As we all move on to the new chapter of clubhouse and with everythinggoing smoothly with covid, we have decided to bring it back in the hope formembers to come once again gather themselves for a catch up and meetingnew friends, and true enough as the news spread that we are doing the kiwibreakfast again we started to see familiar faces coming and joining us for thiswonderful tradition. Not only that we brought back the kiwi breakfast, we also gave it a face-lift,it's no longer the usual scrambled egg, pancake, baked beans, bacon, hashbrown and toast; we've changed it to a healthier option and that there will be1 main dish that goes with it, so far for the main dish we have tried roastedvegetable frittata, bacon and egg pie and breaded scallops to name a few.The classic staple of sautéed baked beans, pancake and toast still goes withit, we also added salad to the plate this can either be greens or fruit salad.This gives the member the opportunity to try the breakfast most of therestaurants here in Auckland do, at a very affordable price. :) The food, presentation and location may have changed for the kiwibreakfast but there's one thing consistent with it, it's the people who comeand enjoy the food, while enjoying the time of catching up with each other.

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We had our very first Arahura day as a joint celebration ofFounder’s day and the opening of the new Clubhouse. It was a wholeday of fun and excitement for everyone having a huge gazeebo set upin our courtyard. We have set up a basketball hoop, a dartboard, aquoits game, giant jenga, cornhole toss and even a petanque game!We were also joined by our trust board chairman Fran who shot somehoops, challenged a few of us in a game of quoits and had interestingconversations with everyone. We had our sound system set up by the courtyard playing musicthat everyone loved. As lunch time we did a karakia and theneveryone lined up for the yummy giant burgers that the staffprepared for all of us. It was a day everyone enjoyed and will definitelybe celebrated each year. So for those who missed Arahura day thisyear, we hope to see you on our next! ARAHURA DAY- By Mickie

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Pink shirt day is an anti-bullying awareness day, to have your sayagainst bullying and being in unity with other people. For Bullying is notcool. For us as human beings, regardless of your gender, whether you wereborn male or female, as we all bleed the same and we have thoughts andfeelings. It is also a bold pink t-shirt day. It was a really fun day with lots of activities. Such as stack cup, ring toss,corn hole, painting hand prints on a 'Pink Shirt Day' sign, coloring-inactivities and table tennis. There was good food, like spring rolls andcupcakes. PINK SHIRT DAY— By Hemi M

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The project was really challenging for me, and it was a good to see a positive resultfrom it. I learnt how to be more alert and mindful of what you need to do, as well aslearning some new skills of how to put the cabinet together. It wasn't easy, but withthe students help, we were able to put it together. I learnt how to assemble thecabinet. It took around half an hour to put the cabinet together. We did 2-3 cabinetswith the students. I learnt how to read and follow the instructions, and how toassemble things together. We assembled the greenhouse as well. That was a really good challenge, but wasgood seeing it all done, I was happy to see that we have a greenhouse. It was great tosee everyone lending a hand to help out. It is a good feeling when you see it all done,very satisfying and good. PR OJECTS— By Indianasharon

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Our members are the heart and soul of the Clubhouse, andit will not function as one without them. They serve as the mostcrucial component to get the daily routine or as we all knowthe “work-ordered day” going. Throughout the years, membershave helped and worked alongside staff to make Clubhousebetter every day. As we moved to our new Clubhouse, we have observed thatmembers have been stepping up in different areas and havecontributed their set of skills to help around Clubhouse. Thereare some that stepped up in cleaning, some in their creativeskills, some in cooking and even with computers. And all ofthese have led to their own personal growth and theimprovement of Clubhouse as well. In line with this, the staff have agreed to acknowledge ourmembers’ efforts in a way that could help them boost their self-esteem even more. This is when we came up with the “Memberof the Week”, which is a simple way of showing gratitude andappreciation to our members that have worked hard towardsthe goal of creating a perfect Clubhouse for everyone. These are our first few “Members of the week” below: NO EFFOR T WIL L GO UNN OTICE D- By Mickie

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Can you tell me a bit about yourself?I moved here from South Africa when I was seven years old. Mysister Jayde used to work here. I enjoy going on hikes and amcurrently learning how to play guitar.What made you apply for the job at Crossroads Clubhouse?I enjoy working with people and helping them to make their livesbetter by helping them achieve their goals.What do you enjoy doing in your free time?I enjoy spending time with friends and family, studying myuniversity course and enjoy dancing. Do you have any pets?I have a dog called Gizmo. He is 13 years old now.What is your favorite food?I like Pad Thai for savory food, and for sweet food I like anythingthat has chocolate in it.What is your favorite movie?The NotebookWhat is your favorite TV program?Stranger ThingsWhat is your favorite music?I like indie rock the most right now.What is your favorite colour?BlueDo you like cooking?Yes, but I enjoy baking more.What is your perfect day?Start with handing out with my family, then go for a hike duringthe day and then going to a concert at night with friends.Where do you see yourself in five years?Registered psychologist, or doing clinical neuropsychology. I maybe living in New Zealand, but could be overseas.JORDAN JOINS THE S TAFF— By Miss Rachael H

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Every Friday we have clubhouse karaoke. Members choose their own song which is theirfavorites, I go to work first on Friday morning beforecoming to clubhouse and enjoy singing karaoke I like singing my favorite song like 'One Direction -Story of my Life', 'One thing', and 'Midnight Special'which my Dad likes and 'Ten Guitars'. Karaoke is an entertainment that members enjoybecause singing is fun and it encourages members tohave more self-confidence. Karaoke shows everyone's talent in singing and evendancing which members and staff love.FRIDA Y KARAOKE— By Daniel R

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For Twilight dinner we had 2 options for our meal; Beef with Broccoli and riceand Honey Garlic Chicken with rice and Broccoli, I had the latter. After dinnerwe went to the Star Dome observatory on One Tree Hill.We saw the stars inside the observatory for Matariki and watched the showexplaining how Matariki started, it was very informative.We enjoyed it and had fun, it was nice to see everyone at Clubhouse afterhours.It was nice to chat to everyone and enjoyed the yummy food.It was a good turnout and I really enjoyed it. MARK' S TWILIGHT D I NNER— By Daniel R

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On Saturday 28th of May for social recreation we went to the Otara Flea Markets inSouth Auckland. Nadia took the social recreation. There were five of us members who went along. They were Daniel, Ngaiwi, James D,Bieu and I. This time we needed only one van to take us. Nadia was the driver for theday. We left Clubhouse at a later time of around 10 am, as now at the new Clubhouse, we arecloser to south Auckland. The Otara Flea markets has many stalls selling products at a reasonable price. Thefruit and vegetables are all at good prices. There are clothing, CDs, and snack foods atsale prices. We all had a look around. Daniel went for a swim at the Otara pools, these pools arefree to get into. I went to the library next to the pools. Ngaiwi bought a pair of jeans forhis girlfriend. Bieu and James looked around the Flea markets together. For lunch we had Pizza Hut - pizzas and chips. It was very tasty. We had the new cheesypizzas. On the way home we stopped at Why Knot discount store. The prices here need tobe seen to believe it! We all bought something. Bieu bought a couple of ice-creamsandwiches for a couple of the guys. We arrived back at Clubhouse around 1 pm. We all enjoyed ourselves and are lookingforward to the next social recreation. NADIA'S SOCIAL RECREATION— By Paul G

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Knock Knock SectionKnock KnockWho's there?Superman Superman who?...You know I can't reveal my secret identity. Knock KnockWho's there?Cash Cash who?I knew you were nutsQuestion and Answer JokesQ — What do you get if you cross a football team with ice-cream? A — Aston VanillaQ — What do you get if you cross a tree with a fruit? A — A pine-appleQ — What do you call a frog who can leave his car anywhere?A — A parking KermitQ — What do you call a man who can sing and drink lemonade at the sametime? A — A pop singerQ — What do you call cheese that isn't yours?A — Nacho cheese!!Q — What do you call the dance where all cakes are invited?A — A-bun-danceQ — What do you call a cake you can give to mice?A — A cheesecake Q — Why do bicycles never do anything exciting?A — Because they are always two-tyredQ — What comes after the letter 'A'?A — The rest of the alphabetQ — Why did the jam roll?A — Because it saw the apple turnover RACHEL'S JOKE SECTION

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Mindfulness is a meditative practice which encourages a person tofocus their attention solely toward or on something. This may be athought, sensation or an activity. This helps relieve and control theoverwhelming 'what if' thoughts which are brought on by anxiety, whichis a worry over future stresses. Controlling these thoughts and maintaining complete attention to atask can help reduce stress, and improve different aspects of yourwellbeing. Wellbeing improvements include an increased memoryfunctioning and even a reduction in chronic pain. At Clubhouse every Monday afternoon, we practice and engage intasks which involve mindfulness. Recently we have purchasedmindfulness coloring books and word finders, to help focus attention.Clubhouse mindfulness also involves fun activities like diamond artwhich members have loved to do. Other mindfulness activities used atCrossroads includes pranayama breathing exercise, box breathing,progressive muscle relaxation and guided meditation. MINDFUL MONDAY'S — By Jordan K

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GABRIELLE, CHRIS AND SOFIA Tell us about yourself?Chris: I am from the United States. I have lived here for 2 years, have 2 dogs and am studyingOccupational Therapy.Gabrielle: I am 20 years old, study at AUT, studying Occupational Therapy. Sofia: I am from England, and am a 23 year old student. I am good at working with adults.What do you expect from your placement here at Crossroads?Chris: Learn more about Clubhouse as well as all the membersGabrielle: To develop more skills and meet new people and have a good time. Sofia: To meet new people and have a good experience.Where do you see yourself in 5 years?Chris: Be a New Zealand resident Occupational Therapist, working with children Gabrielle: OT job, graduated from AUT, start my life and a family.Sofia: Hopefully graduating, working in mental or physical health.What do you like doing in your free time?Chris: Watching TV, playing with the dogs, camping, hiking, and spending time with friends aswell.Gabrielle: I like going for walks, visiting regional parks. I like painting and watching movies anddancing. Sofia: Cooking, hiking and seeing friends. What do you like about Clubhouse?Chris: I like how friendly everyone is as well as everyone helps each other with tasks. Zumba aswell.Gabrielle: I like the friendliness, and inclusion of people and not intimidating. Sofia: I really like the environment and I like the people, and everyone's welcoming. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?Chris: 2 places, first, the United States to visit family. Second place is Australia for a holiday andto visit friends.Gabrielle: Switzerland.Sofia: I would like to go to Greece. STUDENTS AT CLUBHOUSE— By Miss Rachel H, Miss Claire H and Daniel R

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EILISH AND ANE' Tell us about yourself?Eilish: I am an OT Student from Christchurch, who loves to go to the gym, hang with myfriends and love cooking with my flat mates. I am 21 years old.Ane': I am in my second year of university, studying Occupational Therapy. I have a dog andlove taking him on walks. I like baking in my free time. What do you expect from your placement here at Crossroads?Eilish: I expected to meet some lovely people and grow more confidence in my studies.Ane': I expected to experience working in community health care, and grow my confidence.Where do you see yourself in 5 years?Eilish: Working in a job that helps people and have explored the world.Ane': In 5 years I want to be working in mental health settings.What do you like doing in your free time?Eilish: I like playing touch rugby, watching movies and going out with my friends. Ane': I like going to the gym, going to concerts and crocheting. What do you like about Clubhouse?Eilish: I like talking to the members and sharing stories and being in the wonderful space. Ane': I like that it is an open space and allows members a place to come together and supporteach other. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?Eilish: I would like to travel around Europe because of the beautiful landmarks and hotweather. Another country would be Australia because it is like New Zealand, but warmer. Ane': I would like to travel to Italy or Greece because I'm interested in the culture and history. STUDENTS AT CLUBHOUSE— By Miss Rachel H

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My name is Gabe. I love photography,music and acting. I would love to be able towork in that field. I hope all goes well, andeventually I will find the right type of people Ihave always been with. I enjoy the same company and coming tothe Clubhouse helps me make some changes.Thank you very much for listening to my pleaand helping me get my life sorted out. I enjoy the company of people who havethe same feelings for the experience of beingtogether as a family. I enjoy helping out withthe 'Life Skills' duties and activities inClubhouse. I would like to include some of myown ideas, to help make it easier for everyone. My advice to other members would be tolearn from experience and I hope thateventually mine and others dreams cometrue. RES IDE NTI AL MEM BER S— GA B E— IO S EF OHi my name is Iosefo Natoealofa and I’m 43years old originally from Samoa, I startedcoming to Crossroads this year 2022 and Ireally appreciate all the members and theall Staff and I have gained my confidenceto socialize with others and to open upabout how I was feeling and get alongwith everyone. I was diagnose with somesort of depression and all sorts mentallyand also physically I struggle sometimesspiritually but Crossroads has help methrough hard times and to make gooddecisions. Since I’ve moved to Arahura Istarted coming to Clubhouse and I reallylove the company and the love ofeverybody around me.

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Clubhouse Champions Boot Camp is back! Our last 6-weekprogram was a big success with all our members reachingtheir goals! In line with this, we have decided to bring it backand this time it will only be better! Together with our trustedpartners from YMCA, we will be working together towardsachieving not just fitness goals but a lifestyle makeover for ourmembers. Our boot camp is not just about going to the gym but howto live an overall healthy way of living. The 6-week programincludes gym sessions, a gym programme, weekly recipes andbudgeting workshops. We are excited to announce that the boot camp will startagain this September, so what are you waiting for? Let staffknow if you are interested in joining so we can sign you up forthe programme!CLUBHOUSE BOOT CAMP— By Mickie

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Matariki is a special occasion in the New Zealand calendar which marks thestart of the Māori New Year. Signified by the Matariki cluster of starsreappearing in our night sky, this is a time to reflect on the past year,celebrate the present, and plan for the year ahead. We had an amazing week celebrating Matarki, and since Matariki becamea holiday I really wanted to show our members why Matariki is so special tous. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching the members about Matariki. According to our tipuna, many years ago, Ranganui, our sky father andPapatuanuku, our earth mother, were in an embrace. While in this embracetheir children could not see what they were doing and crawled along theground. It just got too much for their children and they needed to come upwith a solution as they did not like to live like this. Tane mahuta, God of theforest, came up with a plan to separate their parents. Tawhirimatea, the Godof wind, did not like that idea, however, Tane Mahuta took it upon himself,and forced his parents apart. Tawhirimatea was very angry about this and tookhis eyes out and threw them into the sky. His eyes became the stars ofMatariki and is why when we have a windy day the wind is all over the placebecause Tawhirimatea is blind as he has no eyes. MAT ARIKI— By Nadz

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Matariki (Alcyone) – people’s health and wellbeingTupu-ā-rangi (Atlas) – things that grow up in trees, including fruits, berries andbirdsWaipuna-ā-rangi (Electra) – rainfallWaitī (Maia) – freshwater bodies and foods from these watersUrurangi (Merope) – the windsTupu-ā-nuku (Pleione) – food that is gathered/harvested from the soilWaitā (Taygeta) – the ocean and foods that come from itPōhutukawa (Sterope) – those who have passed onHiwa-i-te-rangi (Calaeno) – attainment of goals.Te iwa o MatarikiAlthough there are about a thousand stars in Matariki, nine stars are visible to theunaided eye. In te ao Māori, each of the whetū is associated with an aspect ofwellbeing and the environment.The positions of whetū within the cluster are meaningful. For example, Waipuna-ā-rangi and Ururangi are above the other whetū because they represent the rain andthe wind. Matariki is a time to celebrate as this is when all the kai has been replenished andyou are ready for the winter months ahead. It is also a time to remember those whohave passed on. At Crossroads we learnt all about Te whetu o Matariki and did various activitiesthroughout the week, it included learning E Papa waiari which is a Maori song and wealso learnt how to use Ti Rakau. We learnt E te iwi e and the actions to this waiata.The members really enjoyed all our activities and learned a lot about Matariki andwhy we celebrate it. We ended that week of celebration with an Oven Hangi. It was so yummy and ittasted like an inground hangi. Thank you Mark for all the hard-work you put into intomaking something that you weren't used to making and it tasted just like how mydad would make it. I am looking forward to Matariki celebration to the years to come.Mauri OraNadz

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L IK E A L L O U R W O R K , T H I S W A S P R O D U CE D I N H O U S E B Y M E M B E R SA ND S T A F F — OU R A P P R O A CH T O R E C O V ER Y : W O R K I N G S I D E B YS ID E A T C R O S SR O A D S . We’d love to show you our Clubhouse. Please call within our business hours to arrange a tour time. THANK YOU FOR RE ADING!S E E Y O U N E X T T I M ECHATTERSA publication of Crossroads Clubhouse1 P E ARC E ST. O NE H U NGAPH: 09 3 7 6 4 2 6 7ADM I N@C R O SSR O A DS C L UBH O U SE . O RG. N Z FOR MORE ABOU T OU R CLU B HOU S E VI S IT: @Crossroadsclubhousenz