Relief for Nelson mumwho lived in shed
A Nelson solo mum of six schoolaged children who spent six weeks living in a shed is thrilled to have a home for Christmas.
‘‘It’s just a relief to have everyone back together and be in our own space. Being able to go to bed if I want and being able to relax in our own home, and just be ourselves.’’
Cath, who doesn’t want her last name used, had a long struggle to find a new home after she was kicked out of private rental and couldn’t find new accommodation, either privately or through Housing New Zealand.
She arranged for her six children to stay with various friends and family across Nelson, while she slept on a makeshift-bed in a friend’s shed for about six weeks.
She felt like ‘‘a failure’’ because she could not find a home for her family.
But after a large Housing New Zealand house in Tahunanui was repaired and back in rentable state, Cath was offered the new home at the end of October.
‘‘It’s been amazing, everyone has been so happy and very respectful,’’ she said.
Her children are now able to walk to sports practices, school, nearby dairies, and the bus stop, and it’s also given Cath the space to have her grandchildren stay with her on weekends.
She was finally able to focus on more than the stress of househunting, and finding time to visit each of her six children during the week.
They family were so keen to all be under one roof, the first night they had access to the home, they all bunked down on mattresses as the furniture was still in storage.
‘‘We were just like ‘we’re going to sleep here’.
A couple of mates helped bring the mattresses around and then over the following few days we started getting bits and pieces and just took our time, it was really good.’’
Despite the year’s upheaval, her children had continued to excel at sport and Cath was looking for- ward to seeing how they got on over the summer and new year.
‘‘Everyone is happy and that’s the main thing, they’re happy to be back together. My youngest is off to college next year so we’ll see how they all go.
‘‘They’ll be busy with sports – it’s all sports, family, and grandchildren.’’
For now the focus was on family-focussed celebrations.
‘‘It’s just such a relief to know that we’re here for Christmas, because everyone usually comes to me for Christmas.’’
Cath’s mum to 12 children, with six still school-aged and living at home and attending attending schools and tertiary institutes in Nelson. She also has many grandchildren and the whole clan will be joining her for a ‘‘big lunch’’ on Christmas day.
‘‘We’re more about the food and the family than heaps of presents,’’ she said. ‘‘Often the older boys will buy a gift that everyone can use, otherwise it gets too expensive.’’
This year her son wants to buy her a cantilever umbrella for the back deck – a favourite feature of the new home. She’s also started planting vegetables out the front and is looking at putting up some pictures on the walls.
‘‘The manager for the house is lovely, she did a welcome visit four weeks after we moved in,’’ she said.
‘‘She said, ‘You know you can put pictures on the wall?’ Because being in private rentals you’re only allowed to put one or two pictures on the wall, I’d wanted to ask her because I hadn’t found out how many pictures I was allowed. She said ‘it’s your home’.
Cath was also grateful to her Work and Income support person who’d arranged for a food grant when she first moved in.
‘‘So I could buy all the essentials ... she was really supportive, she’d always ring up and see how things were going throughout the whole thing.’’
Cath doesn’t know how long she’ll be in the house for, but expects it will depend how many children she’s got living at home.
‘‘Being such a big home, once the kids grow up it’s only fair that somebody else who needs it, gets it, so I’m just happy for now.’’