Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities

Over 70 tamariki and rangatahi into Hawkes Bay homes 👏 Over December families have been moving into 31 new homes in Hastings and Napier and out of emergency, transitional and other housing – in time for the summer school holidays! Karakia were held this morning by kaikarakia Tiwana Aranui (Ngāti Pahauwera), PC Crawford (Ngāti Hineru) and Mana Hazel (Ngāti Hineru) for the final 15 homes, in Maraenui. These 2, 3, 4, and 5 bedroom two-storey houses come with off-street parking, fenced private outdoor spaces, and are well located close to Maraenui Park and Pukemokimoki Marae.

Leo marked the first Christmas in his new home by taking on a very important role – none other than Santa Claus himself! Since moving into his one-bedroom home in September, Leo has been very quick to get involved in the community. “The staff needed someone to be Santa at our apartment complex Christmas party. I thought ‘well someone has to volunteer’. It was a privilege. I love Christmas.” Leo is loving life in his apartment home, which is nearly brand-new and has come with a ready-made community. “The people are really nice. I settled in really well. It took a bit of an adjustment to get used to being in an apartment, but with the help of my family, I was able to downsize and now I just love it here. See what else Leo is enjoying about his new community https://bit.ly/4gG7AdX

What a difference partnerships can make! A once under-utilised green space next to our homes has been transformed thanks to local businesses and community organisations banding together to create a new playbox, planter boxes and community notice boards. “The ideas for this space came from local Kāinga Ora and Ka Puta Ka Ora Emerge Aotearoa tenants, and this partnership has helped to bring their ideas to life creating a fun, interactive space the whole neighbourhood can benefit from”, says Vicki McLaren, Greater Wellington Regional Director. Thank you so much to the team at Nuku Ora - an active Wellington region, Kā te Rama Switched On Group, Masterton Mens Shed, RHS Robinson’s Handyman Services for working collaboratively to enhance this shared community space. “This is a great example of what can be achieved through strong local partnership,” Vicki McLaren says, “It’s been a really humbling to be a part of this locally driven initiative, which supports our customers to build strong connections within their community.” Read more about this awesome community initiative https://bit.ly/4giYVhF

New homes for the New Year! 38 new homes in Christchurch ready for tenants 🎉 Two of our developments, 14 one-bedrooms in Sydenham and a 24-home in Spreydon, which has a mixture of one to five-bedroom homes, are welcoming people and families before Christmas. 3 one-bedroom, 2 two-bedroom homes and the five-bedroom home at the Spreydon development and seven homes at the Sydenham development have features that make them suitable for people living with accessibility needs. Both developments have communal outdoor seating areas where tenants will be able to soak up some summer sunshine. They’re also close to parks, shops and other amenities, making them a great place to call home.

Ōtāra and Papatoetoe have seen a wave of new social housing, with 143 new homes delivered since July – the largest build programme the area has seen in decades. Two of these developments focused on creating homes for specific needs—one for elderly residents and the other providing much-needed housing in partnership with local iwi Ngāti Tamaoho. See what Karleen Puriri, CEO of Ngāti Tamaoho Settlement Trust has to say about the 57-unit development situated on iwi land https://bit.ly/3VDR3z3

40 new homes for Tauranga whānau – how good! Families have been moving out of emergency, transitional and other short-term housing and into these homes for a fresh start to end the year. The final 19 homes were blessed this week by kaumātua Tamati Tata (Ngāti Ranginui). Community agencies and neighbours joined us to look around the homes located in Greerton, Parkvale and Gate Pā, which have been built by our developer partner Wolfbrook Property Group - Residential.

Ending the year on a high note with a new home in Ashburton 🏠 Mayor Neil Brown of Ashburton District Council has officially opened our new 15-home development – and families will begin moving in later this week. At the opening, Mayor Brown said: “A warm, safe and secure home is not just a roof over one’s head – it is a foundation for opportunity, health and stability." “Our district continues to grow steadily and during our Long Term Planning last year we heard many comments about the need for more social housing. We are all pleased to see this new development finished and families moving in, in time for Christmas.” See what else we’re up to in Ashburton https://bit.ly/41whyKv

“In a world where most people value money over time, Carron gives her time just to do a nice thing for our kids. I appreciate her so much." Meet Carron. She's world-famous at one of our apartment complexes in Auckland and is extremely popular with the kids who live there. Carron lives a few doors down from the complex and was keen to meet her neighbours when they first moved in. After seeing the community room, she volunteered to run a free after-school activity - focusing on environmental sustainability and cooking. “Carron is a very special lady,” says Siu, whose children are eager participants in the workshops. “My kids are very proud of their cooking and always call me down to try whatever they have made. And I’ve noticed that the children living here have become closer by spending time together in the workshops. They’re supportive of each other.” See what Carron has gotten out of running the after-school activity https://bit.ly/4gKBYEb

Wrapping up the year with a new home in Blenheim. Nine new homes across two developments are now ready for people to move in, including eight families who will spend their first Christmas there. See how we’ve worked with Jennian Homes and Scott Construction New Zealand to make these new homes ready https://bit.ly/3ZID3F

After turning his life around, Jacob’s drive to make a fresh start soon became Fresh Cuts – the lawn mowing business he’s growing with the guidance of his mentor Gerard Costello at Neilston Homes. While he builds a business from his Kāinga Ora home, Jacob is also studying. And on weekends? He regularly volunteers at events throughout his Auckland neighbourhood – recently receiving a community award for his efforts. See how Jacob first got involved with his community at https://bit.ly/3CUrVNU