News and media

As we come to the end of the year, we look back at the highlights and what has been achieved for the people we are here to serve. This year Housing First has continued to change communities for the better in Hamilton and Tauranga because we believe everyone must have a home to live in and everyone has the right to live their best life.

Over the past few years we have been reminded of the fact the people we work with die much younger, with 16 of our clients passing away, predominantly from chronic illness due to long-term unmet health needs and unmanaged health issues.

The Bay of Plenty Times interviewed Darren recently. Darren is a client of The People’s Project who uses food banks because after he pays rent, utilities and debts, he has about $25 left to live on. We think everyone would agree that this just isn’t right, but unfortunately it is not unusual for the people we work with.

Not having a home is an issue that affects the mental health and wellbeing of people and communities. In 2017, Kāinga Ora (formerly Housing New Zealand) approached The People’s Project in Hamilton with a proposal. Kāinga Ora would provide a small number of dedicated properties across several inner-city locations, mostly in areas of already-established high-density public housing, to be tenanted by The People’s Project’s clients.

Denise has a penned a beautiful eulogy for Sam Hogg, who recently passed away after a short battle with an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. It was a privilege for our team to be a small part of Sam’s life in Hamilton. He always had a ready smile and a joke.