Sisters at the Tuam St Retreat House with Jill Hawkey. Sister Anne, Mother Alena, Jill Hawkey, Sister Keleni and Sister Annette. by CMM Supplied

Methodist Social Housing Fund Making a Difference

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The housing crisis in Aotearoa/New Zealand is dire for many families. In 2020, the Methodist Conference noted ‘the high levels of stress, poor health outcomes, and poverty sustained through the lack of affordable healthy housing.’ Conference also acknowledged ‘the skills and resources Te Hāhi Weteriana has to be a part of the solution.’

In 2021, Conference formally committed Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa to explore how it could best use its financial, property and human resources to address the housing crisis and wellbeing of communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Methodist Social Housing Fund (MSHF) was established out of this concern. This fund includes two percent of the sales of Grafton Downs Ltd (a joint venture owned by the Wesley College Trust Board and the Church’s PACT 2086 Trust) and is available to Methodist Community Housing Providers for social housing.

The Christchurch Methodist Mission (CMM) currently has two projects underway that have received grants from the fund, one in Blenheim and one on leased parish land in Christchurch.

Rogers Street Architect's Visualisation — Image by: Supplied

Rogers St, Blenheim

Blenheim has a significant housing shortage. The median weekly rent in the Marlborough District has doubled over the last ten years, from $275 in 2013 to $550 at the end of 2023. Incomes have not kept pace.

There are currently 243 households on the Housing Register in Marlborough. These households have severe and persistent housing needs that must be addressed immediately because they are homeless or living in temporary accommodation or are in unsuitable housing (e.g. because of overcrowding).

Over the past six years, CMM has been providing support to individuals and families who are homeless in Blenheim. This includes supporting those living in emergency motels, providing transitional housing for families and leasing houses from the private sector. It also includes providing intensive support to those who have been long-term homeless (through the Housing First service).

CMM is committed to helping people move into long term rentals and this means increasing the social housing supply in Blenheim by building new housing. Currently CMM is building six 2-bedroom houses in Rogers St. for families on the Housing Register. This project has been greatly assisted by a grant of $750,000 from the Methodist Social Housing Fund. Families will be moving in in the second half of 2024.

Vanya Vitasovich and Andrea Goodman at the Rogers Street Blenheim site. Vanya is CMM’s Regional Housing Manager for Marlborough, Nelson and the West Coast. Andrea is CMM’s Housing Development Manager. — Image by: Supplied

Somerfield St, Ōtautahi/Christchurch

Christchurch South Parish (St Marks) has also responded to the Conference call to use the resources of Te Hāhi Weteriana to address the housing crisis. The parish owns a property next to its church and has leased this land to CMM for social housing development. An old house on the site has been demolished to make way for five new houses. Once again, the MSHF provided a significant grant of $700,000 for this development.

Families in CMM’s transitional housing will be prioritised for these new builds. Last year, CMM supported 42 families living in transitional housing in Christchurch. To be eligible for this temporary accommodation (funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development), individuals and families must have nowhere to stay and be in urgent need of housing and support.

By mid-2024, five of these families have a permanent home in Somerfield St.

Tuam St, Ōtautahi/Christchurch

Also in the pipeline are 20 new homes for kaewa (clients) of Housing First Ōtautahi who are experiencing long term homelessness. These homes, together with a communal space, will be built in the central city on a site recently purchased by CMM from the Community of the Sacred Name. This community of Anglican sisters came to the city in 1895 to undertake parish work, teach and care for the poor and sick. Their century-old convent did not survive the Canterbury earthquakes and last year they decided to sell the property.

A Retreat House on the site remains and will become offices for some CMM staff who will shift from the Mission’s Matson’s Avenue site. Two houses on that site will be demolished to make room for social housing for older people.

In September last year, CMM staff gathered with the Sisters in a liturgy to give thanks for the work of the Community of the Sacred Name and to recall its history. CMM Executive Director, Jill Hawkey, honoured the tradition of compassionate care established by the Sisters over many years. “We are excited to be continuing the kaupapa of the Sisters in the years to come.”

Methodist Alliance National Forum

Recognising how important it will be to continue to address the housing crisis in the coming years, the Methodist Alliance National Forum in Auckland (8–9 March, 2024) will focus on housing. Its aims include: to understand the new political landscape for addressing the housing crisis, and to further develop the Methodist Social Housing Action Plan to support those in housing need.