Almost 40 and without options

Kane Roper is nearly 40 years old and may be forced to move in with his parents.

It’s a last resort for the desperate and deteriorating Waikanae man, who counts himself among New Zealand’s most vulnerable.

Roper, who has multiple sclerosis, has spent a year as a high priority on the social housing register, waiting for his valued independence to evaporate.

The Ministry of Social Development says it is doing all it can to find him a home but there is a shortage of modified properties across the country.

The 38-year-old now lives in a small home owned by his parents in Waikanae, Kapiti, with his small sausage dog Link – an antidote to the loneliness that his condition brings.

But his parents, are in their 70s and need to sell the house in November.

‘‘Would anyone out there like to be pushing 40 and be asked to go live with your parents? It’s nothing against them, it’s just a lot of hard work. The place isn’t set up for someone like myself.’’

Multiple sclerosis gradually damages the central nervous system and has Roper weakened, using a wheelchair, and exhausted after holding a conversation.

He wants a place to call his own with somewhere to sleep and shower. Yet private rentals are too expensive – he already struggles to pay the power bill on a supported living benefit – and often they aren’t suitable for his needs or his dog.

He went to the ministry in October last year and was placed on its waitlist as a high priority client for housing in Waikanae, Paraparaumu or Raumati South.

‘‘They have said, ‘You should be sorted very soon’. But after a year of waiting, that doesn’t hold much weight . . .

‘‘I don’t want to feel like my hands are tied, and be forced to move somewhere that doesn’t fit my basic needs.’’

The ministry’s acting regional commissioner, Graham Allpress, said Roper was one of several people in need of a modified home, of which there was a short supply across the country.

Roper was moved to a higher priority on the public housing waiting list in June, and the ministry was taking a further assessment to see if his priority could be further increased.

‘‘We’ll continue to do everything we can to make sure Mr Roper has somewhere warm, dry and safe to live until he has a permanent home.’’

Allpress said Roper would be offered support with rent, bond and both transitional and emergency housing.

ROSA WOODS/STUFF Kane Roper, who asked not to be identified in a photo, has multiple sclerosis and a serious housing problem. The illness, which has limited his ability to move and speak, is now limiting his ability to get housing through the Ministry of Social Development. With nowhere else to go, the 38-year-old says he is at breaking point.