Life inside emergency housing
A woman waiting for a kidney transplant says the motel she’s been placed in is making her sick.
Summa Stone occupies one of 18 units at the Sunset Lodge Motel in West Auckland, all of which are currently being used for emergency housing by the Ministry of Social Development.
Her new home was cold, damp, endlessly draughty and connected to a ‘‘foul’’ drinking water supply, she said.
At night, she could hear the wind whistling past her door.
‘‘We’re meant to be finding adequate living places for ourselves [but] it seems really hopeless with no help,’’ Stone said. ‘‘I’ve been without a permanent place to live for four months or so. Prior to that I was couch surfing.’’
Stone, who has had kidney issues for more than two years, is currently on dialysis – medical treatment she receives at Waitakere Hospital three days a week.
She’s waiting for a transplant and hopes she can find a house that’s more suitable long-term.
But as a single woman on the invalid’s benefit, it was tough finding somewhere she could afford, and the temperamental wifi at the motel wasn’t helping with the search, she said.
‘‘I watch TV, park myself up in bed, and try and get well. It’s OK, I’m a survivor.’’
Mother-of-five Anastasia Telea Tamasese has lived at the motel for 11 months.
The family is crammed into a two-bedroom apartment with beds pushed together in the lounge to maximise space. Tamasese moved into the motel in November 2017 but would not be able to transition into a Housing New Zealand home until her residency was approved.
She had been living in New Zealand for 10 years but only held a working visa. It expires in March.