New homes create a community of more than just neighbours

For the residents of a quiet cul-de-sac in Invercargill, their Kāinga Ora homes have provided them with safety, improved wellbeing and, most importantly, the bond of friendship.

Eight accessible two-bedroom homes line the street with their manicured gardens – and the people living in the homes all have their own reasons for cherishing the community they’ve built together.

Although the residents only moved into the homes just over a year ago, they have become the best of friends.

One of the residents, Tracy, explains that there’s a special sense of community they have created through the support they offer each other.

“It’s a close community – you look out your kitchen window and someone is waving at you. We give each other space but if you need help, someone is always there for you.”

For Tracy, who uses a wheelchair, her move to the home has also meant she can live in an environment that caters to her needs.

“Before we moved here, we were living in a tent, then a cabin and my health went downhill. Moving into this accessible townhouse has been life-changing.

“My physical and mental health have improved, I was able to have the treatment I required and I had a safe space to recover in,” says Tracy.

For neighbour Shona, moving to her new Kāinga Ora home has also benefitted her health by allowing her to be closer to family.

What she didn’t expect though, was to be surrounded by an entirely new support network as well.

“I like a later start sometimes and I remember one day not long after moving in, it was around 10am and I was still in bed. I heard loud banging on my front door and thought ‘what on earth is that?’ and went to check what it was,” Shona says.

It was neighbours Len and Joyanne checking Shona was alright as her blinds were still pulled shut.

“I wasn’t too pleased about the human alarm clocks at the time,” she jokes. “But now I look back at that and think how lucky I am to be surrounded by these people – I feel safe here.

“I knew it was going to be good here, but I didn’t know it was going to be this good,” Shona says.

Joyanne, who lives across the street from Shona, moved into her new home after experiencing some far from ideal living conditions after she moved out of her previous rental, due to it being sold.

“After needing to move from my old home, I went to living in a horrible small hut on a farm for three months and then to a portacom at a hotel I was cleaning. At my age and being on my own, I felt quite unsafe.

“So when I was called about a Kāinga Ora home it was such a relief – I had a peep through the window before moving in and I shouted ‘this is a palace!’.”

Since moving in, Joyanne has been able to finally enjoy her older years thanks to her neighbours.

“Len mows my lawns and I bake him cheese puffs as a thank you. I drop our other neighbour, Dave, to his hospital appointments and I know he’ll repay the favour when I need it. It’s just what we do.”

Joyanne’s dog Honey has taken to her new home too, quickly charming her neighbours.

“If I say to Honey in the morning, ‘Len’s door’s open’, she’s off like a rocket over there, gets a treat and then she’s flat out back here again. She loves it here,” Joyanne says with a big grin on her face.

“I have my family here - this is my family.”