Mum fears for safety at emergency shelter
A homeless mum says she feels safer living in her car than in a government-funded emergency housing unit.
Olga Caske said she moved out of the unit two weeks ago because it was not safe for her son.
She suffered from racial abuse and her 11-year-old son had panic attacks at the housing facility in West Auckland, she said.
‘‘That place is not safe for any child, with noise, swearing, alcohol, mental health issues and drug addicts,’’ she said.
‘‘We had no other option but to move into our car.’’
On January 11, the 51-year-old and her son did just that after a number of unsavoury experiences at the complex.
A church friend allowed her to park on her front lawn.
However, following media attention, Caske said Housing NZ offered her a two-bedroom house from January 25.
She would be put up in a motel in the meantime, she said.
The news came after Caske said she could not return to the emergency housing complex.
The ESOL teacher, who migrated from Russia 25 years ago, said she faced racial abuse at the facility.
‘‘Once I told a guy to stop swearing in front of the children [and] he stepped close to me and said ‘this is the culture of this country so you and your son better get used to it’.’’
Caske said she would keep her windows shut at the complex because it was so noisy at night. ‘‘We used to be boiling, but even if we opened the window a tiny bit, we could hear the swearing and the noise.’’
She said she left the complex after a ‘‘mad night’’ when two young girls were left unsupervised in their unit. ‘‘They must have been five or six and they kept shouting ‘dad come back’ while this guy just roamed around.’’
Her troubles started in August when she moved from Whangarei to Auckland following a relationship break-up.
MSD organised for her to stay in a motel while she looked for rentals, but her search was unsuccessful. After putting her up in a motel for three months, MSD moved her to the housing complex in West Auckland, where she lived for the next two months.
MSD deputy chief executive Scott Gallacher said the ministry expected to find suitable accommodation for Caske ‘‘as early as this week’’. He said he understood Caske had been living with a friend.
The social housing provider has been approached for comment.