A dialysis patient and her husband living in a cold, mouldy home with no running water say iwi slammed the door on them despite having a housing fund to help.
Punaruku couple Sheryl and Paora Glassie have spent five years struggling to get any one of their three applications for the Te Puni KÅkiriâs MÄori Housing Network Community repairs grant accepted.
The grant aims to reduce the number of whÄnau MÄori living in unsafe or substandard housing nationwide, as well as build the capability of whÄnau homeowners to repair and maintain their homes.
Applications are prioritised on a range of factors that include if vulnerable people, such as children, are affected.
The Glassies situation has concerned Te Puni KÅkiri, and its regional director for Te Tai Tokerau, Te RÅpu Poa, said they would contact the whÄnau directly to discuss their applications.
The couple has watched as their neighbourâs less wearied home is improved by the same grant they claimed to be outcast from.
Sheryl said she was happy for her neighbour but that didnât stop her from wanting to cry. They donât understand why their home remains untouched despite initially applying years earlier than next door.
âIt pours in here when itâs raining, we have to put buckets everywhere ... and itâs cold,â Sheryl said.
The home, which they share with their three mokopuna aged 3, 4 and 6, has no running water. The toilet is a long drop located closer to the bush line. The ceiling insulation installed by Healthy Homes had since gone mouldy.
Paora said the building needed major structural work as the house had started to bow. Windows are inside out and donât open.
Sheryl and Paora Glassie inside their Punaruku home in desperate need of repairs. Photo / Michael Cunningham
For a while, they lived in a separate cabin on the property and just used the house for cooking. However, when Sheryl started daily dialysis treatments at home they had to move inside to where the only power supply is.
WhangÄrei Hospital staff expressed concern about their home and provided a shipping container to house her medical supplies, as well as a generator to counter the constant power cuts.
Poa said it was inappropriate for Te Puni KÅkiri to discuss the coupleâs specific situation because they did not have a full understanding of what has taken place.
Despite all the problems, the Glassies love their home. Paoraâs father built it more than 80 years ago. That and the fact Paora stopped working as a teacher to take care of Sheryl is why the repairs grant is so important to them.
Paora worried that the funding was being run on a âpick and chooseâ system rather than fairly.
âItâs not that we want a handout ... I think for myself as a beneficiary of NgÄtiwai, we are entitled to apply for funding to get assistance and thatâs what the programme has been designed for.â
Poa acknowledged some whÄnau were frustrated with delays to repairs but the issue was being exacerbated by recent extreme weather events and the rising costs of delivering housing support.
âDemand for housing support that Te Puni KÅkiri funds across Te Tai Tokerau has significantly exceeded the amount of putea [money] Te Puni KÅkiri has available to invest.â
Te Puni KÅkiri funds different rÅpÅ« [groups/organisations], such as Ki A Ora NgÄtiwai in the Glassieâs case, to help coordinate and prioritise repairs in local communities.
Poa said applications that are unable to be funded in the short term are reprioritised and reconsidered for future investment.
âTe Puni KÅkiri is committed to enabling thriving whÄnau. Recognising that when whÄnau are thriving so do their communities, hapÅ«, iwi and all of Aotearoa.
âHere in Te Tai Tokerau, we will do all we can to achieve that.â
Karina Cooper is deputy news director and covers breaking and general news for the Advocate. She also has a special interest in investigating what is behind the headlines and getting to the heart of a story.
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