Mike Rolton, general manager of Society of St Vincent de Paul, launched a Healthy Homes Program, to help residents save money through smart power usage. Picture / Alan Gibson
Mike Rolton, general manager of Society of St Vincent de Paul, launched a Healthy Homes Program, to help residents save money through smart power usage. Picture / Alan Gibson
A Waikato social agency is tackling a new front in a war against the rising cost of living.
Society of St Vincent de Paul, or Vinnies as its known in Hamilton, has launched its “Healthy Homes” program, promising residents savings of about $1000 a year through smart power usage.
Vinnies’ goal was to reduce power usage by 30 to 40 per cent for each household.
The program was split into four different aspects; a healthy home inspection, a recommendation to switch to a power company endorsed by Vinnies, adding LED lightbulbs to the household, and putting warm curtains in.
The home inspection educates residents on efficient appliance use and smart energy-saving practices.
LED lightbulbs can save a household $465 per year, according to Mike Rolton, from Vinnies in Hamilton.
Vinnies general manager Mike Rolton said the program created a significant amount of savings.
“We give 12 LED bulbs per house and the saving for each household per light bulb is approximately $37.80 per year. If you give them 12 to put in their house, you’re saving them $465 just like that.
“We try to convince people to change power companies to what we use, and we’re just trying to set up a subsidy where they can only get a charged a flat rate with no extra or disconnection fees, and they just pay one flat rate.
“That can save another $500 depending on the power usage.”
Rolton brainstormed the program in late 2023 as food parcel demand rose, anticipating challenges for some in 2024.
He said the demand reflects on the healthy home program.
“We started to think about healthy homes in November and we hired two new people because we knew it was going to be tough this year. That’s why we decided to put the program in so we could help people.
“There’s people who have been redundant and their difficulties now are all around food and it’s the same message coming through across the board. Our food application asks for the main reason you need food, and it’s quite sad to read...which reflects through to healthy homes as well.”
St Vincent De Paul Hamilton general manager Mike Rolton in the charity's Hamilton foodbank. Photo / Peter Tiffany
He said if people could save money through their power, they would have more money for food.
In a report sent to the Waikato Herald from Vinnies, 15 people stated their struggles of not having any financial help or food.
“Just wondering if you could help me out with some cupboard foods and some meat, [I] had to pay for the last of my mum’s funeral.” This female cares for her nine children and elderly father.
“I’m currently seeking help with food. I work part-time and get the solo benefit but unfortunately with the living expenses now, money is tight and I’m only left with $10 from Work and Income once everything is paid for from my benefit. With my wages, I’m lucky to have $150 left once power, petrol, and internet are paid. I’m currently seeking budgeting advice.” This female is the sole parent of three children.
The launch of the program just before the New Year holidays gained traction, with Rolton aiming to further expand its participant count.
“[The program is] working well and we’ve done 18 homes so far this year, and we’ve got another 13 to 15 homes lined up for February already, which is good.
“We’ve also just gone out to Huntly because [the community there] like Vinnies. We went out there this week to let them know what we were doing, and they seemed to be pretty excited. In the next few months, we’re hoping to quadruple the number.”
Vinnies’ plans for the upcoming struggles of families by breaking the year down into three busy times.
“Right now it’s busy with the back-to-school period of needing food and money for uniforms, we know that in winter people need help with their power, and we know at the end of the year, commercializing Christmas puts a lot of stress on families.
“This initiative is all about teaching and helping people save some money, which they can use to put towards the costs of food.”
The Healthy Homes Program was initiated in late 2023, after busy periods saw a spike in demand for food parcels. Photo / 123rf
The program aims to save $20 per week, which Rolton said is “the difference between having milk and bread on the table each week or not.”
