Supported housing model coming to Wellington

  • Hon Dr Megan Woods

On-site care and support services for some of Wellington’s most vulnerable people is being introduced for the first time to permanent public housing in Wellington City.

The Single Site supported housing applies to all units on the 80-home development site in Rolleston Street, Mt Cook, with 20 of the homes receiving intensive, specialist support.

Housing Minister Megan Woods today announced that Wellington City Mission has been selected as the successful provider and will provide 24/7 onsite support from later this year.

“These services include, counselling, employment assistance, healthcare, budgeting and skill development that can empower and enable individuals to live stable lives with dignity,” said Woods.

“The Wellington City Mission has been supporting the communities of the Wellington region for 119 years and has a wealth of experience and learning with supporting whānau in a range of residential settings throughout the region.

“Rolleston Street is one of several redevelopments underway across Wellington which is delivering much needed new, quality public housing.

“In the past five years we have delivered over 400 much needed public and supported houses for people and whānau in Wellington City, and we will continue to provide more homes in the coming years with over 1,000 in the pipeline across the region.

“Across the country we have delivered an additional 13,305 public homes since October 2017. In contrast National left New Zealand with 1,500 fewer public homes than it started with and failed to invest in new ones.”

Twenty of the 80 Rolleston Street homes have been completed with the development expected to reach final completion in late 2023. The development will have 36 one-bedroom, 29 two-bedroom and 15 studio apartments in a mix of two to five storey buildings. It has been thoughtfully designed to enable a sense of community with landscaped areas and gardens, and shared community spaces for people to connect and access support services.

Editors notes

Other Kāinga Ora public housing developments in Wellington City include:

  • In Newtown, 36 homes have recently been completed at Owen St. These homes replace an old earthquake-prone and damp complex. It is a well-designed development in another central location with user-friendly outdoor spaces have been designed to maximise the quality of life for the residents.
  • Boosting supply for the inner city, Kāinga Ora also recently purchased 53 Boulcott Street and 50 Webb Street in the central city. These purchases will help provide homes to those who need housing urgently in the central city, including people from Loafers Lodge. They will also help rehome customers while their homes are being retrofitted or redeveloped.

/Public Release. View in full here.