Cancer patient still in housing limbo
Breast cancer patient Toni-Ann Aitcheson fears she will be seen as the ‘‘bad guy’’ if she turns down her new home.
Aitcheson, who also has a spinal disease, said she thought her nine-month stint of living in motels had ended when Housing NZ offered her a home on February 12.
However, she said the unit was not suitable for someone with disabilities because of stairs at the entrance and an unsafe bath.
‘‘This was supposed to be the home where my nurses can come and help me and I would not have to run around,’’ she said.
‘‘It was the house I was going to die in.’’
A Housing NZ spokesman said the home would be modified to suit her needs, but did not confirm if there was an alternative entrance or if her dog could stay with her.
Aitcheson said all she needed was a home where she could rest.
‘‘I will have to go down a set of stairs to get into the entrance,’’ she said. ‘‘The bathroom has a bathtub and that’s very dangerous for me as I can fall down, and I cannot keep my medical-needs dog there who has saved my life thrice in the past.’’
Government agencies buckled and gave her whatever home they could find after her plight featured in the media, she said.
‘‘Now if I turn down this house, I am going to look like the bad guy, but I will get badly injured if I live there.’’
Aitcheson was a Ministry of Social Development (MSD) case manager when she had to quit her job after being diagnosed with cancer.
She said she had looked for a private rental, but landlords backed out as soon as they found out she had cancer.
‘‘They are very nice, but they say ‘we want someone who is working’.
‘‘Every day I am house hunting, calling, contacting real estate agents and passing their reference checks. It’s draining.’’
Taxpayers dished out $43,000 last month to pay for the forgotten guests, including Aitcheson, at what was dubbed motel desperation.
The West Auckland motel received 46 emergency housing grants totalling more than $43,270 between January 5 and February 9.
Some guests – who all have a heartbreaking story to share – reported their weekly hotel costs averaged $1000 each.
Aitcheson, who had lived in the motel for six months, said the Government paid $1155 a week under the grant.
Another guest, Kayla Hewison, said MSD had forgotten she needed a home, but were willing to pay $900 for her bill.
The emergency housing special needs grants were introduced in July 2016 with a budget of $2 million a year.
However, by June 2017, the Government had already spent more than $29m on the grant after it rapidly became oversubscribed.