Entry received from: Hutt City Council
Category: Collaborative Government Action
Not having a warm, dry, and affordable place to call home is a significant problem for too many of our people, particularly Māori whānau. Too many whānau are homeless and our tamariki should not be living in emergency housing. The narrative must be changed for future generations.
Hutt City Council (HCC) sought to address this through an innovative housing partnership utilising the skills of its property development arm Urban Plus Ltd (UPL) and working with a Māori NGO who established the vehicle to secure Crown funding.
The Takai Here Tāngata initiative led by HCC, Kahungunu Whānau Services (KWS), Te Rānanganui o Te Āti Awa (TRoTAA), and UPL has the goal of putting more people into permanent housing. Together we have built a village called Takai Here Tāngata (the binding of people together), situated on Te Ara o Takapā in Taitā, Lower Hutt.
We are incredibly proud of our partnership and are delighted to see nineteen whānau now living in purpose-built environmentally friendly homes. These homes were designed and built by UPL and were purchased via funding from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD) through the Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga and MAIHI Programmes. The townhouses are managed as public housing by KWS Takai Here Tāngata / 24 March 2023 / Nomination Application P.2 through a newly created Community Housing Provider (CHP) - Poua Ki Raro Limited (one of only two Māori CHPs in the region). The housing of mana whenua and all our people has been identified by the partners as a key priority. Housing has a major impact on people, providing for improved quality of life, stability, and better health outcomes, and ultimately it enables our whānau to have a greater say in determining their own well-being and futures. As such, the partners see this kaupapa as something far more than the provision of housing - we are actively disrupting a system that does not serve or respond to our housing needs.
The vision for the village was provided by Te Āti Awa Rangatira, Kura Moeahu: "He Herenga Kura, He Herenga Tāngata, He Herenga Whenua - A sacred connection that unites the people and binds us to the land."
Takai Here Tāngata signifies how through collaboration and partnership we can create new pathways and practices to enable healthy, thriving, secure, and affordable homes to be built across Lower Hutt.
Thank you to our category sponsor