Press Release - for immediate release: 16 Nov 2016

Despite doubling their capacity to support families who are in the midst of a housing crisis Tai Tokerau Emergency Housing Charitable Trust (TTEHCT) is concerned that they still will not be able keep up with the demand for its service.

Whangarei’s Mayor, Sheryl Mai, officially opened the re-furbished nine-unit property in Kamo today and highlighted the growing partnership between the Council and the Trust.

‘We are delighted to be able to open this place,’ said Trust Chairperson Adrian Whale. ‘It represents eighteen-months of hard work by Housing NZ, the Ministry of Social Development and our Trust to increase the number of people we can house.’ ‘ We are celebrating today because we know how much it will mean to families that do not have a home. The first tenants will move in later this week and we expect to be full by the end of the month. Families are lining up to move in even though we do not have furniture in the units. We would gladly welcome donations towards beds and bedding.’ ‘Sadly, we know that even having these extra units will not provide enough accommodation for the many people in crisis at the moment. We are turning away two or three families a day. They simply cannot afford the levels of rent now being charged for private rentals in Whangarei and there is a distinct lack of Housing NZ homes here.’ TTEHCT has been operating for over ten-years and has helped over 1,200 households since it began. It manages two other properties that cater for families and one home that can house up to six single men. The Trust is leasing this new property from Housing NZ.

‘Our role has grown over the past couple of years’ , explains Ange Tepania, Operations Manager.

‘We do more than put a temporary roof over people’s heads now. We welcome them when they are desperate and stressed out. Within a short time they begin to open up, share their stories, their tears, their dreams. Our team then has the privilege to walk alongside the family to build-up their confidence, help them re-engage with services and find a more suitable place to live.

We will use this same relationship model at our new Kamo place. We know it works well but it is really intensive work. Through it all I have discovered that we are all very similar at our core… we wish the best for our kids, including a safe, caring place to call home’, says Ms Tepania.

‘Homelessness in our community is solvable’, says Mr Whale, ‘but it will not be solved through our Trust becoming bigger and bigger. We would rather see a collective effort concentrated on providing a home for people to live in long-term.’ ‘Currently families risk getting into a pattern of moving from place to place. That type of lifestyle is not great for them and their children, nor for our schools and local communities. We really do need the government to take on the serious challenge of building more homes in Whangarei as soon as possible’, concluded Mr Whale.

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