Some excited kaumātua are finally going home to their flats 18 months after Cyclone Gabrielle extensively damaged them.
But, sadly, several of them have died as they waited for repairs.
Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Trust chair Leon Symes says it’s a significant milestone as kaumātua have spent 18 months with whānau or in temporary accommodation awaiting repairs to the six kaumātua flats.
Cyclone damage included water and silt damage to walls and floors that needed to be removed and repairs to the ceilings and roofs.
“Tragically, some kaumātua have passed away during this period or have moved to rest homes outside the district,” Symes said.
He said some of the kaumātua were hōhā with the time it had taken but were glad to be back in their whare.
The trust is grateful for the funding it received from Te Puni Kōkiri to achieve this repair programme and he said kaumātua possibilities for housing in Wairoa is an important kaupapa for the trust.
Rest home and hospital care needed
There was an urgent need for a rest home in Wairoa as well as immediate support for more than 50 patients who were being cared for at home when they really needed hospital-level care.
The trust has had to delay the building of its own 13-bed kaumātua supported-living complex in its housing development due to the rising costs of materials and labour. It has also had to shift from using off-site manufactured homes due to the sustained damage to State Highway 2.
“In addition, we have faced the loss of our kaumātua housing coordinator role due to the recent restructuring of Te Aka Whai Ora,” he said.
“We are currently awaiting a decision from the Ministry of Urban Housing and Development regarding additional support to address these challenges.”
Symes said the trust is committed to addressing the challenges in front of it and will continue to work towards ensuring the kaumātua of Wairoa had access to appropriate and supportive housing.
Wider pressures for housing in Wairoa
The need for housing in Wairoa goes beyond kaumātua as the recent flooding in June created more external pressure.
Symes said up to a third of the housing in Wairoa had been directly affected by floods with over 70% of damaged homes occupied by Māori families, many being renters.
There were 150 whānau in temporary accommodation and now there are 45 more.
In July Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Trust urged the government to provide urgent social housing support.
“The recent flooding underscores the critical need for social housing investment in Wairoa,” Symes told Scoop.
“We urge Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Housing Minister Chris Bishop to allocate at least 30 social housing homes from the 1700 it has allocated in the budget to support our efforts.”
He said the trust is looking for additional funding sources both in the temporary accommodation sector as well as transferring those in temporary homes to permanent papa kāinga arrangements.
The trust is working closely with the Wairoa District Council and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in developing a flood mitigation plan. Some money had been set aside from the government to work through that and, given the recent flood in June they are looking at river mouth management.
Last week at the Iwi Chairs Forum the trust put forward its case to ministers Chris Bishop, Casey Costello and Tama Potaka and it hopes to get traction as there is existing funding and streams they could repurpose.
“We’ve done the numbers, run the stats, know the need, the demand, and can deliver,” Symes said.