90 | Ngati Hine Health Trust Kim Newth A key part of well-being NHHT’s community housing development is underway in Ranfurly Street, Moerewa. COMMUNITY In Te Tai Tokerau, the Ngāti +ine +ealth Trust (N++T) is a leading provider of whānau ora services. Recognising that housing is a key part of people’s well-being – and that there is a pressing shortage of aordable homes in the North - the Trust is stepping up its actions in the area of social housing. The Trust already owns and manages kaumātua housing, houses and ȵats in Moerewa and an emergency house in Kawakawa. These homes are rented to whānau at aordable rates. Now the N++T is growing its support further, having committed to an extensive community housing development underway in Ranfurly Street, Moerewa. +elping to fund this key proMect is Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga Ministry for +ousing and Urban Development. The Ranfurly Street housing represents a 100 increase in N++T’s community housing commitment. With a proMect budget of around 30 million, it also represents a very significant investment by an Ζwi-Māori +ealth Provider. ȊYou would not get a commercial developer building this number of houses in Moerewa as the returns would not stack up for them,ȋ observes Geo Milner, N++T Chief (xecutive Oɝcer. ȊΖn short, the market doesn’t aways meet the needs of the community. The +ousing Register shows there is a long waiting list for aordable public housing. As a provider of community housing >an accredited C+P@, we could see an opportunity to make a dierence by working with government to bring new whānau housing units to our heartland here in Moerewa.ȋ Ζn total, 3 new units are planned for the Ranfurly Street development. Ζn conMunction with the Trust, proMect managers Scope, proMect architect Cato Bolam and their in-house planners, surveyors and engineers have developed the masterplan to achieve high quality high density urban design within the proMect parameters. Architectural forms and colour schemes selected will reȵect the surrounding hills and their natural colours. Civil works commenced in December 0 with roading, power, stormwater and septic treatment systems due to be in place by the start of July this year. Construction will then get underway by CANAM Construction Limited with final proMect completion on track for February 0 . ȊThis development is right up there as the largest Māori social housing initiative in Te Tai Tokerau and possibly in New Zealand. Ζt is pretty exciting for us to be here providing part of the solution to the dire housing situation we have in Te Tai Tokerau.ȋ The focus of the new Moerewa social housing development is to combine aordable community housing with strong residential and urban design and support for whānau needs. ȊWe think these 3 units will translate to aordable housing for between 1 0 and 1 0 people. A well-being centre is also being built on-site. We know it’s one thing to build physical houses and quite another to turn them into homes and a community where whānau can access wide-ranging support. We will have Ngāti +ine +ealth Trust sta on-site at the well-being centre to work with whānau and provide wraparound services.ȋ With its track record in whānau ora whānau empowerment, N++T is well-equipped to provide that wraparound support. The Trust is a member of the Te Tai Tokerau Whānau Ora Collective that delivers Whānau Ora services throughout the region. The Trust places whānau at the centre of everything they do. The full range of integrated services provided by N++T includes Te Mirumiru (arly Childhood (ducation Centre, +auora Whānui Primary +ealth and Screening, Maiaorere Disabilities Support, Whānau Whānui Social Services and Family Support, Mātauranga Whānui +ealth Promotions, (ducation and Training, Whānau Ora Whānau (mpowerment, and Te +ononga +ou Mental +ealth and Addictions. As Geo observes, the Trust’s new community housing development in Moerewa will be more intensive than what has traditionally been built in the area but housing sizes and spaces have been carefully considered to meet the needs of today’s whānau and to provide aordable community housing options. ȊWe know how much this is needed. We have whānau living in overcrowded housing, or couch surfing, not to mention people living in tents and old sheds all across Northland. We probably need 10 times what these 3 units will provide to even begin to make a mark on the public housing register.ȋ Meanwhile, Te Pouahi o te Taitokerau - a separate, much broader initiative - is also getting underway to advance durable Māori housing solutions across Te Tai Tokerau. A hui on the +ousing Kaupapa was held at Kareponia Marae in mid-April. www.scopeprojectsnz.com
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