From RNZ
For most New Zealanders in their 70s, homelessness is not something that crosses the mind.
But one Papatoetoe woman is facing exactly that, with her uninhabitable tornado-hit rental now up for sale, and her possessions in storage.
Meanwhile, another homeless resident says there is still not enough support for locals struggling to navigate the insurance system, as well as Auckland Council and Ministry of Social Development (MSD) relief funds.
Faapio Sagaga, 72, used to live on Hayward Rd in Papatoetoe but is now effectively homeless.
"We'll start a new life," she said.
"It's a new beginning altogether for me."
Faapio, or Fab - for Fabulous - as she likes to be called, lived in a modest flat at the rear of a section on Hayward Rd until that fateful day on June 19.
"It was this big, huge lightning and then 'bang', and all the window was shattered onto my bed," she said.
"And the lounge too, the glasses were broken."
The flat was her home for nearly seven years, but the main house at the front of the section has been red-stickered, with its roof partially torn off.
So the owner has decided to sell up.
Sagaga is at peace with the decision. It makes sense, she says, but now the hunt is on for a new roof to sleep under.
"I'm just bunking with my son and his family just across the road, and people have been offering me ... a spare bed in their house.
"Especially my church, because my minister came first to my aid and my family, and then my neighbours."
Sagaga says one option is a move to the cold climate of Canterbury.
Safe to say though, she is not convinced. Papatoetoe is home. This is where she wants to be.
"I do have family down in Ashburton and the kids have got me a house there, but I'm sorry to say kids, but I don't particularly like it down there. I love it here."
So, at 72, Sagaga's flat is trashed, her belongings are in storage and she is bunking down with family.
"It's not the end of the world, it could be worse. The people have been absolutely wonderful," she said.
"The Sikh community, the neighbours that come with food to offer assistance and clear all the mess that was here.
"It's going to be a long, long way to recover, well it's like the earthquakes, the floods."
But many in Papatoetoe are far from cheery - 51 people remain in temporary accommodation provided by Auckland Emergency Management. Earlier, that number topped out at over 100 people.
That pales in comparison to those asking for financial support - 397 applications have gone to MSD's Civil Defence Fund, with another 32 to the $260,000 Mayoral Relief Fund.
Carla Makiha's house on Freyberg Ave is a write-off.
With the help of others, she's made alternative arrangements to emergency housing.
But some have not been so lucky, instead being plonked away from family in Auckland's CBD.
"Keep our families in South Auckland, I've said it so many times," she said.
"You've ripped away homes, you've ripped away identity from some of our families and now you're going to stick them up in the city and you take the children away from their safety net."
As for help for people navigating the system - whether it be insurance, mayoral funds and figuring what you are and aren't eligible for - Makiha said that has been another nightmare for many in her community.
"It's beyond me that in this day and age there is not a playbook," she said.
"When one entity says one thing and another entity says another, and they don't work together."
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