Elderly housing in Tauranga: Whare Kaa, a new home for women, opens in Greerton

Rose Pakai, 70, has moved into Whare Kaa after living in her cold car and then a motel. Photo / Alex Cairns

A 70-year-old battling pneumonia after living in her cold car for a week has been given a warm bed.

Rose Pakai told the Bay of Plenty Times she had nowhere to go after returning to Tauranga.

She was taken in by Te Tuinga Whānau Social Services Trust and initially stayed in transitional housing at its RSA motel.

Now she has become one of the first residents of Whare Kaa, a four-bedroom transitional housing home for women in Greerton that opened last week and was run by the trust.

She moved in on Wednesday, choosing her room and showing it off with pride.

“All I need is a good rest, a really good rest because I can’t function,” Pakai said.

Rose Pakai is among the first residents at Whare Kaa. Photo / Alex Cairns

Her new housemate is Vicki Barrett, 62.

Barrett said that three years ago, she was happily living independently in Tauranga when two strokes in her sleep changed everything.

“I woke up one day and the world had changed … it was awful.”

She said she could not speak properly and was in hospital for six weeks because she could not find anywhere to live and was not able to live alone.

Barrett said she spent three years in a supported living facility in Rotorua before returning to Tauranga three months ago, staying in the RSA motel and now Whare Kaa.

Vicki Barrett, 62, has moved into Whare Kaa, run by Te Tuinga Whānau Trust. Photo / Alex Cairns

She said her new home was “perfect” and it would be “amazing” to have more independence again and do things others may take for granted, such as cooking.

“I haven’t done anything like that for … three years.”

She said it had been “tough” to lose what she had but the future was looking “more positive” and she hoped to one day have her own affordable home.

The women’s stories come after fears an elderly housing “crisis” was looming in Tauranga were expressed in a Tauranga City Council meeting this month.

Whare Kaa was named after Kaa O’Brian, Te Tuinga’s former chairwoman and only life member, and the former president of the Māori Women’s Welfare League.

Te Tuinga Whānau has opened a transitional house for elderly women in Greerton called Whare Kaa. Photo / Alex Cairns

It is the second whare kaumatua leased to Te Tuinga Whānau by Kāinga Ora with support from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s transitional housing funding programme. People living in transitional housing paid rent of up to 25 per cent of their income, and HUD covered the rest.

The first was Whare Patariki, a “mini-retirement village” that opened in October and can accommodate five men.

The dining room at sunny Whare Kaa connects to a kitchen, which leads into the spacious and warm lounge with couches, a TV, and a photo of Kaa O’Brien on the coffee table.

The carpets are springy, plants and art decorate most rooms, and diffusers let off a fresh floral smell.

Each bedroom has floral bedding and heating and there is a bathroom and two toilets.

Vicki Barrett says her new home is “perfect”. Photo / Alex Cairns

Te Tuinga executive director Tommy Wilson said there was a growing number of elderly homeless people in Tauranga.

He said trust workers had seen elderly women living on the streets, in their cars, on couches, or straight from hospital and still in their dressing gowns.

“Someone has to look after the elderly in our backyard, and as far as we can see, we’re one of the very few that are putting their hand up.”

“We’re putting them together under an umbrella where we can care for them, because on their own, they’re flying solo, and the older you get, the harder it is.”

He said elderly were “caught in the crossfire” of the “perfect storm” of poverty, P, and the pandemic, with some ending up caring for their grandchildren.

There was also a desperate need for affordable one-bedroom units in the city.

Te Tuinga Whānau executive director Tommy Wilson. Photo / Alex Cairns

There were 471 people on the waiting list for one-bedroom public housing units in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty, according to Ministry of Social Development June figures.

Trade Me Property sales director Gavin Lloyd said the median weekly rent in Tauranga was $680 in June, up 6 per cent on the year prior. In the Western Bay of Plenty it was $600, down 3 per cent on the year prior.

Trust operations manager Corey Wanakore said more women would come through Whare Kaa and all would have wrap-around support from the team.

“We’ll walk alongside them and ensure when they leave the front door when they’re ready, they’ve got all the tools to go with them.”

He said having a place to call home, relax in and be safe in was important for the mana of Māori: “We look after our elderly.”

He said the trust wanted to create more houses for kaumatua, as funding allowed.

“We’re responding to the crisis for the elderly in Tauranga at the moment, there’s just not enough housing and they can’t afford housing,” he said.

Te Tuinga Whānau operations manager Corey Wanakore. Photo / Alex Cairns

“This is the start, but it’s not the answer.”

The trust had “huge respect” for Kaa, he said. She died three years ago, having had a “huge” standing in the community.

“[Having her name is] not something we will take lightly given the woman that she was and the legacy she left behind.”

He said having her son, daughter-in-law and mokopuna share in the opening was special to link the house to its namesake and family.

Trust kaiarahi Sylvia Wilson said they had six referrals before the home opened, with two in a motel and the others in unsafe housing.

Te Tuniga Whānau Trust kaiarahi Sylvia Wilson. Photo / Alex Cairns

Two weren’t able to move in because they could not bring their grandchildren.

She said the elderly the trust saw had contributed to society, yet came through the doors homeless, unwell and tired.

“It’s so wrong … I’m absolutely appalled.”

She was “privileged” to be a social worker caring for the elderly and enjoyed setting up the home where “they feel warm, at home, like they’ve landed, and the anxiety in here can rest”.

“Hope becomes a reality when you’ve moved in.”

Wilson would do activities with the women and said they were all looking forward to being able to cook.

Cira Olivier is a social issues and breaking news reporter for NZME Bay of Plenty. She has been a journalist since 2019.